Circuit City Stores Inc. said Wednesday it plans to cut costs by laying off about 3,400 store workers and hiring lower-paid employees to replace them, and by trimming about 130 corporate jobs.

Its shares rose 3 percent in morning trading.

Circuit City, the nation’s No. 2 consumer electronics retailer behind Best Buy Co. Inc., the store workers being laid off were earning "well above the market-based salary range for their role." They will be replaced with employees who will be paid at the current market range, the company said in a news release.

Circuit City operates 643 Superstores and 12 other locations in 158 U.S. markets — including 11 in the Denver area, 15 total in Colorado — and 800 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. Last month, the company said it would close seven domestic Superstores, a Kentucky distribution center and 62 company-owned stores in Canada to cut costs and improve its financial performance.