WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (AP) — The Shaw’s supermarket chain says it is closing six underperforming stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The stores scheduled to close by early next month are in Fall River, Fairhaven, Stoughton and Taunton in Massachusetts, and Westerly and Woonsocket in Rhode Island.

The West Bridgewater, Mass.-based chain said the stores have not been profitable for quite some time and efforts to turn them around have not worked.

The company said although difficult, the decision was “guided by what is best for the company’s ongoing success and future growth.”

Management will work with unions to find displaced workers positions at other Shaw’s stores.

The company, owned by Cerberus Capital management LC, still operates more than 160 Shaw’s and Star Market stores in five New England states, including Maine.