Best Buy Co. Inc. on Saturday announced that two of the five Minnesota stores it plans to close this year will shut down this month.

The Brooklyn Center and Edina stores will close June 21, the company said in a news release. Previously, it had said those sites, along with others in Lakeville, Rogers and Hutchinson, would shut their doors by this fall.

"This was not an easy decision to make," the company said. "We ... are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way."

The two stores' employees will be paid through Aug. 8 and considered for other Best Buy jobs, the company said. "If they don't find new positions, or if they choose not to work at a different location, a transition including severance packages will be available," the company said.

Best Buy, once the undisputed king of consumer electronics, has been challenged by flashy high-end brand outlets like Apple Stores and low-cost online retailers such as Amazon.

Currently, the company, which has experienced a steep slide in sales, has about 1,100 stores nationwide and employs about 180,000 people. In late March, it announced a plan to cut $800 million over three years, closing 50 big-box stores nationwide and rolling out smaller-format Best Buy Mobile stores, as well as eliminating 400 positions at corporate headquarters in Richfield.

About 300 employees are affected by the closing of the five Minnesota stores. Those stores are:

• Brooklyn Center, 5925 Earle Brown Drive.

• Edina: 3200 Southdale Circle.

• Lakeville: 18350 Orchard Trail.

• Rogers: 20870 Rogers Drive.

• Hutchinson: 1350 Hwy. 15 S.

Staff writers Pamela Miller and Thomas Lee contributed to this report.