Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Japan based video game maker Sega Sammy said it will push 300 employees to “voluntarily retire”, that includes employees in the United States!
Alabama: Cafe and market V.Richards shutting down, the store owner made the decision suddenly saying he will chase “other ventures”.
Arizona: What real estate market recovery? The city of Phoenix now has a 22% office vacancy rate, or more than one in five!
California: In Pleasanton, Too Big to Jail JPMorgan Chase Mortgage issued a WARN saying 63 people will become unemployed in March. Obama Care forcing Fallbrook Hospital to issue a WARN saying they’re shutting down their Skilled Nursing ops by the end of March, 96 jobs lost. Boeing issued more WARNs saying another 127 Californians will become jobless by April! In Shafter, Baker Hughes issued a WARN saying 130 people will be laid off immediately! Don’t blame oil prices, it’s totally related to Halliburton’s $35-billion USD takeover of Baker Hughes! At the U.S. Army’s National Training Center, Fort Irwin, taxsucker Northrop Grumman issued a WARN saying 443 people will become jobless by May!
Florida: What housing market recovery? In Jacksonville, JPMorgan Chase Mortgage issued a WARN saying 163 people will be rendered jobless by the end of March! Walt Disney World laid off 500 IT employees! Many employees told local news there was no warning, while other employees say they were suspicious when last year they were told to re-apply for their jobs. Disney administrators refuse to confirm the number of laid off employees, as well as reports that IT jobs are being contracted out. C1 Bank announced they are shutting down their Tampa office in March.
Indiana: After only 18 months Skate America shutting down their rink in Lafayette by the middle of February, blaming the greedy landlord.
Kansas: Vess Oil Corporation has halted all “new projects”, but said nothing about jobs. News reports say oil drilling in the Wichita area has declined by 23%.
Michigan: The city of Detroit is kicking many retired city employees off the city health insurance plan! Here’s what one ignorant retired city worker said: “How can human beings that have given so much be cast aside?”-Nancy Headapohl (that’s exactly what happened to millions of people in the former Soviet Union, and good ol’ Ronald Reagan took credit for wining that Cold War)
Minnesota: No more RyKrisp crackers! ConAgra stated “After a careful evaluation of our options, ConAgra Foods has decided to exit the RyKrisp and rye cracker business and close the [Twin Cities] plant.” Administrators with the Minnesota Zoo warned of layoffs and exhibit shutdowns.
Mississippi: In Jackson, Kroger announced they will shutdown their more than 20 years old grocery store on Terry Road in February 2015, at least 109 jobs affected!
Missouri: In Fenton, industrial packaging maker Greif issued a WARN saying at least 33 people will become jobless by May. Administrators say their company is still making profits, but those profits have been getting smaller and smaller year after year.
Montana: In Helena, after more than 25 years The Donut Hole shutting down. A financial partner backed out of a deal that would have seen the donut shop move to a new location, now it’s up for sale.
New Mexico: Flying Star now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and shutting down two Santa Fe restaurants.
New York: More proof you can’t blame the internet for killing brick-n-mortar stores; Georgia based internet service provider EarthLink issued a WARN saying 60 employees in Rochester and Pittsford will be laid off between now and May. Too Big to Jail JPMorgan Chase Mortgage killing off 350 jobs in Rochester by Autumn! NYC based communication company Viacom warned employees of massive layoffs before the end of the 1st quarter 2015, saying the bad economy is forcing them to “pull all the levers”.
North Carolina: What automotive industry recovery? In Fayetteville, employees of tire maker Goodyear have gone to the local news media saying at least 40 salaried workers will be laid off. It sounds like they’re being forced to ‘retire’. Company administrators refuse to comment.
Ohio: Zane State College laid off eight people. Enrollment has been falling since 2011. After six years Big Fun Cleveland toy store shutdown. The owners say the economy is so bad in Cleveland that they will focus on their store in Coventry.
Oregon: Safeway shutting down their Clackamas regional office, due to the takeover by Cerberus owned Albertsons. 91 jobs lost by March.
Pennsylvania: In Hazelton, OfficeMax announced they will shutdown their Humboldt Industrial Park distribution center by Summer, 200 jobs lost! It’s blamed on the merger with Office Depot.
Texas: In East Austin, Live Oak BBQ being shutdown and sold off by the owner, who said “simple math” proved it wasn’t worth it anymore. Oil drilling company Lariat Services laid off 245 people in the Permian Basin! Carrizo Oil & Gas reducing their Eagle Ford Shale production by 35%, but said nothing about layoffs. Houston based oil company ConocoPhillips claims they’ve lost $39-million during their 4th quarter of 2014, and made this warning: “We’ve informed our workforce that reductions should be expected.”
Virginia: SunCoke Energy has shutdown a coal mine in Buchanan County, 150 jobs lost!
Washington DC: Seven Pinkberry frozen yogurt stores now for sale as a result of chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Wisconsin: Publisher of many model kit building magazines Kalmbach Publishers laid off 15 people from their Discover and Art Jeweler magazines, blaming crashing sales. Don’t blame the internet most of their publications are available on the internet, in fact Kalmbach has twice as many websites (including one about drones) as it does hardcopy magazine titles!
27-29-January-2015: “Was the writing on the wall? Certainly!”
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.