Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Energy industry recruiting firm Swift Worldwide Resources says the oil industry killed off 150-thousand jobs by the end of May! And this despite reports that demand for energy will increase by 35%, just in Asia.
California: In Burbank, Disney-ABC canceled plans to replace 35 IT workers with foreigners. This comes after hundreds of former Disney IT workers in Florida revealed they were forced to train their foreign replacements!
Colorado: After 50 years Hadley’s Canon Western Wear announced they’re shutting down as soon as the inventory is sold off. The owners blame the un-recovered economy and competition: “The economy is a big deal! All the box stores are moving in. People are shopping online and we are not going to have mom-and-pop stores anymore!”-Mike Hadley, co-owner
Connecticut: In Ridgefield, clothing store Suburban Underground shutting down after their inventory is gone. The Valley Sports Center shutting down next week: “The demands of the owner’s corporate career has made it impossible to commit the time necessary to ensure the success of the business.”
Georgia: In Atlanta, after eight years video game store UGAME shutting down by the end of the month. They’re being forced out by the landlord who made a deal with next door Papa Murphy’s to allow them to expand into the UGAME space.
Illinois: In Saint Charles, smoke detector maker Honeywell System Sensor issued a shutdown WARN for their manufacturing operations, 252 jobs lost July! The company is consolidating manufacturing to other factories. After 65 years the Indiana Harbor Dairy Queen shutdown. City administrators said the Dairy Queen corporation demanded the franchise owners pay to upgrade the restaurant, but the franchise owners didn’t have the money.
Michigan: Wayne-Westland Community Schools laid off ten teachers. The Livonia Public Schools laid off 40 teachers. Plymouth-Canton Community Schools warned 73 teachers of pending layoffs. Garden City Schools laid off 46 teachers. Farmington Public Schools laid off 30 teachers. It’s all blamed on crashing funding due to what I call Disappearing Students Syndrome. What automotive industry recovery? General Motors (GM) laying off 1-hundred people at their Orion factory, by July! Administrators stated the new layoffs are on top of the 160 announced at the end of last year! They blame crashing sales of their Chevy Sonic (down by 28%) and Buick Verano (down by 15%). In Edwardsburg, after 30 years outdoor rec store Lunker’s shutdown. The pissed-off owners blame the recession and the Too Big to Jail banks in an official press release: “While the big box stores were able to secure large cash infusions during those difficult times, Lunker’s was not able to. An investor came on board and provided some temporary relief, but still it was not able to secure the funds needed to make it a truly viable venture.”
A coal fired electricity factory in Escanaba shutdown, city administrators say they’ve made a deal to buy electricity from a cheaper source. In Howell, after seven years Pet Provisions pet store shutdown. The owners blamed their crashing sales on the loss of the shopping center’s two anchor stores (Big Lots! and Secretary of State) for killing off customer traffic: “We love Howell, and we were really hoping to make it work. We did not want to close the store; it was a last resort.”– Sarah Holliday, co-owner
Minnesota: In Saint Paul, after 40 years Pro Pharmacy shutdown. The owner has sold it to Walgreens-Boots Alliance, which just happens to be in the process of shutting down 2-hundred Walgreens stores.
Missouri: God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ 117 years old Dover Place Christian Church. One member of the church lamented “We just don’t have anybody coming, that’s all. We don’t have the income on Sunday morning’s to take care of everything.” You see, even christians think only about ‘money’. Don’t they remember Jesus evicting the money changers?
Nebraska: In Grand Island, after 20 years the Heartland School of Dance shutting down, as well as Mid-Town Barbers, due to the greedy attorney-landlords: “I recently received a lease-termination notice from the studio’s landlords…….The old heating system is worn out and too expensive to fix.”-Karen Jamieson, owner of the dance studio
New Jersey: Pet-livestock drugs maker Zoetis announced they’re eliminating 165 jobs at their Florham Park HQ! The Burlington County Corrections and Work Release Center shutting down, female prisoners will be sent to Atlantic County Jail.
New York: In Melville, Too Big to Jail Bank of America issued a shutdown WARN for their Consumer & LAS Operations, 29 jobs lost by September. In NYC, restaurant Ouest shutdown due to the greedy landlord jacking up the rent. The New York Times said one loyal customer was so upset she said “I feel there’s no reason to stay in New York anymore.” After almost 50 years the Candle Bar shutting down due to the fact the owner has sold off the building.
North Carolina: Physicians Choice Laboratory Services laid off 120 people at their Rock Hill Riverwalk Business Park! Christine Marks, vice president for marketing, directly blamed ObamaCare/healthcare reforms for reduced reimbursements from Medicare and private insurance. After 58 years restaurant Bonnie Kay Seafood shutdown in Greensboro. The owners blamed the rising cost of food: “Basically it’s economics, trying to maintain a model of a seafood camp which means bringing a lot of people, putting a lot of food on the plate at a reasonable price; with seafood that’s getting harder and harder to do.”-Tina Oliver, co-owner
Ohio: Ridge Tools announced they will begin eliminating an undisclosed number of jobs at their Elyria factory. Back in March they tried to convince employees to voluntarily quit. Local news reports said they tried to contact the company president, but he was away in China on a business trip. This suggests that Ridge Tools is about to off-shore their production. In Lyndhurst, after less than four years high priced cookware store Le Creuset announced it is shutting down in July. What housing market recovery? Columbus based mortgage company Huntington Bancshares announced they will wave real estate closing costs in an effort to boost languishing home sales.
Oregon: More reports out of Oregon that California based computer chip maker Intel will be killing off massive numbers of jobs. Intel is the largest employer in Oregon and the latest report says layoffs will begin on the 15th. The Oregonian says the layoffs are a combination of crashing sales and Intel’s $17-billion USD takeover of competitor Altera.
Pennsylvania: In Camden, after 20 years the Francis House AIDS ministry shutdown. But the operators say it’s good news, because local AIDS cases and deaths have crashed. But so has donations, and Francis House can no longer pay their utilities. ObamaCare forcing the Cumberland Family Practice to be merged with Good Hope Family Physicians, and forcing Baughman Family Medicine to shutdown! Doctor Paul Baughman directly blamed ObamaCare for “…dropping reimbursement, increasing overhead and a few unexpected bumps in the road.” Administrators with insurance company Capital BlueCross admitted that ObamaCare was going to drive up the cost of healthcare, ironically by forcing people back into emergency rooms as more health clincs shutdown or consolidate due to reduced reimbursements: “If they have health issues, they may have to go to the ER, hopefully an urgent care clinic, and the ER is an expensive place to get primary care. That adds to the cost.”-Aji Abraham
Tennessee: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams joins Blue Bell Creameries in shutting down all their stores due to listeria contamination! Jeni’s has halted the grand opening of their latest store, because their ice cream has tested positive a second time for listeria.
Texas: The SMART Schools summer camp for kids, held on Rice University property, shutdown six weeks early. It’s complicated but basically SMART Schools could not verify the certifications of the counselors, and they claim that promised funding from Be Inspired never came through.
Rhode Island: That which can’t be named refuses to stop ‘its’ Jews from suing each other over ceremonial bells, supposedly worth $7.4-million, and causing the shutdown of the 250 years old Touro Synagogue in Newport! Oh those silly money grubbing ‘Jews’.
Virginia: Willow Pod at Daleville Town Center shutdown. The owner said “Life happens…I want off the roller coaster of uncertainty. It has been a difficult couple of weeks. I have really put myself into Willow Pod. It can be depressing thinking about closing it. But now is the time to move forward.”-Jennifer Aylor
Wisconsin: In Mequon, the Centennial Bar & Grille shutting down next week. It was sold to Sobelman’s Pub & Grill.
10 – 11 June 2015: “We’re not making any money anymore…”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”