Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
International based “Free daily newspaper” Metro.US laid off five employees in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Alabama: Boeing issued a WARN saying employees will be laid off at their Huntsville NASA ops in January 2015.
Indiana: Shopko issued a WARN saying it will shutdown their Lebanon distribution center. The shutdown will be completed by September 2015, 95 to 100 jobs lost!
Kentucky: In Ashland, after only two years the Lamp Post Cafe shutdown with little notice, the lease was not renewed at the last moment, the owners blame the bad economy: “We’re two years into it and it is a tough economy. While we’ve certainly been moving forward, we are a victim of the economy. We found ourselves with our backs against the wall….Our first winter, the electric bill just about killed us…”-Shane Fields
Massachusetts: Framingham based Mitt Romney wunderkind Staples announced the shutdown of 170 North American stores, I’m not sure if this is part of, or, on top of its previous list of 225 that will be shutdown by mid 2015! More proof the internet isn’t killing off brick-n-mortars. TV through the internet service provider Aereo now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, it’s blamed on lack of funding and a federal court order preventing the company from streaming specific TV shows.
Michigan: Without warning American Laser Skincare (formerly known as American Laser Centers) shutdown all 136 operations in 25 states and Puerto Rico, at least 1-thousand jobs lost! Some employees reported they were threatened by armed security guards that they had less than two hours to get all their gear and vacate the premises! Many customers pre-paid for skincare services worth thousands of dollars, and will not be getting refunds! The Northeast California Branch of the Better Business Bureau says customers are screwed: “To say it doesn’t happen would be a misnomer. We see it with gyms, cosmetic surgery, all kinds of stuff. There’s been a big recession, and a lot of people [companies] are financially unstable, and you don’t really know about their financial condition. We’ve had people pay them like the day before they closed their doors.”-Gary Almond
In order to cut costs due to reduced payments caused by Obama Care, Holland Hospital laid off all their in-house language interpreters. The Detroit Free Press warned of layoffs, to take place before U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and again before the western Christian Xmas holiday (which is at a different time than eastern Christian Xmas). The newspaper is owned by Gannet, which is also killing off jobs at other newspapers around the U.S.
Missouri: Belgium-Brazil owned beer brewer Anheuser-Busch admitted to laying off employees at its Saint Louis brewery, but refused to give a number. Anheuser-Busch also shutdown its U.S. Busch Media Group. HVAC maker Nordyne announced it will complete its shutdown of two factories by June 2015, at least 700 jobs lost!
New York: In Brooklyn, after only a year the owner of Marco’s restaurant announced it will shutdown in December. The owner says the profits weren’t high enough to cover operating costs. In NYC, reports that The New York Times will kill off even more news gathering jobs, via the bribing of at least 100 employees with “buyouts”! Warnings that British empire United Kingdom based Reuters will layoff news staff in NYC. Thompson Reuters says they’re news division has lost $79-million USD in its last quarter!
Pennsylvania: After 13 years Endless Mountains Quiltworks shutdown due to family health problems.
Vermont: The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant announced it will shutdown at the end of 2014. 165 employees to become jobless, while 316 will remain for the decommissioning process until the end of 2016! At one point 625 people were employed!
17-19 november 2014: Cargill & Walmart join exodus from Canada
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.