“…situation is pretty dire…numbers they gave Wall Street were inflated….management don’t want to say no to the big guys…” : U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 19 August 2015

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Netherlands based Royal Dutch Shell began eliminating hundreds of oil industry jobs in Louisiana and Texas, as part of their plan to eliminate 6-thousand 5-hundred jobs globally!

Alabama: Alabama Media Group announced it is eliminating jobs across the state.  The Video Warehouse announced it’s shutting down their 17 years old Ozark store.

California: The Orange County Sheriff laid off five staffers and now they’re suing.  Grocery store Raley’s announced it will eliminate 29 jobs from their West Sacramento HQ and their Natomas warehouse.  Company administrators are excited about killing off so many jobs because it makes them feel “…optimistic about the future and we continue to hire in areas to support future growth.”  Raley’s also revealed they’ve leased out their Winnemucca store to Idaho based Ridley’s Family Markets, affecting 50 Raley’s employees.  The Winnemucca store is the fourth Raley’s to shutdown this year.  Administrators of Los Angeles based clothing chain American Apparel admit it is on its death bed: “…decline in comparable sales…We believe that we may not have sufficient liquidity necessary to sustain operations for the next twelve months. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt that we may be able to continue as a going concern.”

Colorado: More proof tech jobs are not recession resistant, Denver based video game maker IllFonic laid off six software developers.

Illinois: It’s been revealed that Eastern Illinois University eliminated 118 civil service jobs!  50 of those former employees were forced to quit or retire early.  In Chicago, God refuses to stop ‘his’ Catholic Church from using the excuse of lead contamination to suddenly shutdown the Saint Elizabeth School.  After six years restaurant Browntrout shutting down because sales suck: “We just can’t seem to hold it together….It’s drying up on us…It’s so erratic. What’s really stopping us now is we can’t make payroll…..I can’t keep a Band-Aid on it.”-Sean Sanders, owner

Indiana: In South Bend, New Jersey based Bed, Bath & Beyond shutting down their Erskine Village store in time for Thanksgiving.  Local news reports many businesses leaving the Erskine Village shopping center, and that the property owners missed their loan payments for February and March!

Michigan: ObamaCare forcing HealthPlus to shutdown their Saginaw and Troy offices, about 250 jobs lost!  HealthPlus abandoned the Medicaid and MIChild business.

New Jersey: In Paramus, Denmark based drugs maker Lundbeck Research issued a WARN saying 68 employees will become unemployed in October.  It’s part of their plan to eliminate thousands of jobs around the World (1-thousand jobs to be cut just from their Denmark HQ)!

New York: ObamaCare forcing addict rehab operation Phoenix House to issue a shutdown WARN for their NYC and South Kortright residential programs, at least 50 jobs lost in time for Thanksgiving. In Jamaica, God refuses to stop ‘his’  Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services from shutting down their Monica House homeless shelter in time for Thanksgiving, 26 jobs lost.  Administrators say it now costs too much to maintain the building.  More proof the internet is not recession resistant, NYC based HarperCollins shutting down their seven years old internet community for wanna-b writers, Authonomy, in September.

North Carolina: Divine Wine and Beer shutdown, the owner blames it on his wife who became the new pastor of the Church of Asheville.  Winston-Salem based Too Big to Jail BB&T shutting down 25 branch offices as part of its merger with Pennsylvania based National Penn Bancshares.

Ohio: The Quaker Square General Store and NewsStand Comics being forced to shutdown by the property owner, which is the  University of Akron.  New Albany based clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch is reportedly going to shutdown an additional 60 stores, on top of the 52 already shutdown.  In Springdale, Dillard’s announced they’re shutting down their clearance center at the Tri-County Mall.  It’s blamed on their new $350-million USD store at the Liberty Center Mall in Liberty Township.

Oregon: After more than 12 months the anti-GMO Moreland Farmers Pantry shutting down, according to local news reports it has something to do with the owner also being anti-homosexual marriage.

Pennsylvania: Jameson Hospital moving up their date to end childbirth services, no thanks to ObamaCare mergers.  Now, instead of the September shutdown the maternity ward will shutdown on 20 August! The earlier shutdown date seems to be blamed on a lack of medical staff.  God refuses to stop ‘his’ Catholic Church from shutting down the Saint Patrick Grade School. Local news reports say Catholic leaders tried to secretly stop parents from protesting. In West Point, union members revealed that their employer, drugs maker Merck, will eliminate “thousands” of jobs and then force those still employed to work 16 hours shifts!  An unnamed employee warned you should avoid medication made by Merck: “The situation is pretty dire. We’re making medicine, not coat hangers. The numbers they gave Wall Street were inflated and not realistic. Lower and middle management don’t want to say no to the big guys because they don’t want to lose their jobs.”

Tennessee: In Gallatin, Nationwide Studios (akaTeddy Bear Portraits) laying off 69 employees between now and the end of September, as a result of the shutdown of their portrait printing ops.

Texas: California based Demand Media shutting down their Austin office, 30 jobs lost.  At one point Demand Media employed at least 1-hundred Texans!

Utah: What housing market recovery?  Too Big to Jail financial/mortgage industry company MCS Valuations shutting down their Sandy office.  Basically they said that after a year of review it wasn’t worth it to them to keep their Utah ops going.

18 August 2015: Federal Reserve says college does not pay-off!

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.”