Incomplete list of U.S. job loss announcements and shutdowns.
California: Vegetable grower Hiji Brothers shutting down, 260 people in Oxnard jobless by August! No official reason was given for the shutdown. Benz Sanitation-Propane issued a layoff WARN, 132 people in Tehachapi jobless by August! Switzerland based Nestlé issued a layoff WARN, 72 people in Modesto jobless by the end of July (supposedly temporarily). Renewable energy company SunEdison continues killing jobs, this time 121 people in three locations were laid off at the end of May! In Los Angeles, restaurant Yamashiro shutting down tomorrow, 82 jobs lost. Also in LA, Bloomingdale’s shutting down their 59th & Lex Cafe, 17 jobs lost (supposedly temporarily). In Santa Monica, Buca Restaurant 2 issued a shutdown WARN, 39 jobs lost by August. Interesting, Abbot Vascular officially (and finally) revealed it laid off 160 people in Redwood City, back in December 2015! In San Diego, Scripps Health revealed it laid off 122 people in May! National Retail Transportation issued a shutdown WARN for its Fontana location, 125 jobs gone by the end of July! In San Francisco, British empire United Kingdom based BAE revealed it laid off 54 people in May. Newspaper The Fresno Bee eliminating 85 jobs by the end of July. Food packager Pactiv shutting down their Vernon operations, 106 jobs gone by July! What irony, Simply Hired issued a shutdown WARN, 94 people in Sunnyvale jobless by the end of July. More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t directly blame the internet/high-tech competition for your demise; internet slots website Playtika eliminating 111 Santa Monica jobs by August!
Connecticut: After 16 years Salem Feed & Grain shutting down due to declining sales and the owner focusing on other businesses.
Florida: After 35 years Turner Tree and Landscape chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to $7-million USD of debts.
Illinois: Switzerland based Zurich Insurance Group warned of massive layoffs, including at its 1-hundred-years-plus old Chicago office, but refused to give numbers. Also in Chicago, after 34 years Itto Sushi shutting down by the end of the month. Pleasant house Bakery shutdown, supposedly it’s being replaced with a pub. Oak+Char restaurant shutdown due to disputes between the owners. The state Attorney General is suing Jimmy John’s sandwich shops for forcing employees to sign illegal ‘noncompete’ contracts!
Iowa: Canadian Pacific Railroad shutting down their Nahant maintenance shop, 21 jobs lost.
Kansas: After surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions Varney’s Book Store shutting down all locations after an 80% drop in sales, due to losing contracts with K-State Student Union bookstore and K-State athletics.
Kentucky: In Lexington, two years after a grand re-opening Shorty’s Market shutting down. The 2013 shutdown and this new shutdown both blamed on lack of sales.
Massachusetts: Williams-Sonoma shutting down their Holyoke Mall cooking supply store in July.
Minnesota: In Minneapolis, after 68 years Rush’s Bridal shutting down, the family owns the building and can make more money renting it to somebody else.
New York: More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t directly blame the internet/high-tech competition for your demise; NYC based internet publisher Gawker Media now chapter 11 bankrupt busted after losing a $140-million USD lawsuit brought against them by Hulk Hogan. In Ithaca, Standard Art Supply & Souvenir shutdown, no reason given but local news media discovered the property owner was asking the city for permission for new construction. In Rotterdam, Things Remembered shutting down due to not being able to renew the lease.
Oklahoma: Newspaper The Oklahoman shutting down its packaging and printing ops in Oklahoma City, 130 jobs gone by September! The Oklahoman was Oklahoma’s largest newspaper but will now contract out work to rival Tulsa World.
Texas: More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t directly blame the internet/high-tech competition for your demise; in Austin, former drivers for California based internet companies Uber and Lyft filed multiple lawsuits over their sudden dismissal in May. The sudden halt to Uber and Lyft operations is the result of Austin residents approving a new law requiring Uber and Lyft to conduct background checks on ‘independent’ drivers. Apparently Uber and Lyft didn’t want to comply, so they laid off hundreds (possibly thousands) of people without warning. (Uber has already agreed to settle a lawsuit by 350-thousand drivers in California and Massachusetts who say Uber never reimbursed them for fuel expenses! Lyft is offering to pay California drivers $27-million USD to settle their legal action!)
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification.
I found a 2010 AFL-CIO analysis (titled The Public Availability of WARN Notices: Lack of Accessibility and Disclosure…) which proves what I’ve been suspecting in my search of state WARN notices; most states are not complying with federal WARN regulations and are not publicizing or tracking mass layoffs.
Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed!
Employees of religious non-profits might not qualify for unemployment assistance: “If the non-profit organization is a church, you may or may not be entitled to unemployment. It all depends upon state regulations for church employers. In many cases, churches are allowed to set their own rules regarding unemployment benefits, meaning the church can choose whether to offer benefits to former employees.”
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.”