Incomplete list of U.S. retail/banking/service sector job loss WARNings and store shutdowns made or announced in July 2018:
WFMYNews2.com: These 11 retailers may not survive 2018
The Washington Post: Millions of educated, experienced workers have been tossed aside
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
ALABAMA: After 83 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Zoghby’s Department Store shutdown so the owners can focus on their more profitable commercial real estate business. After 70 years Friedman’s Fine Jewelry shutdown.
ALASKA: The last two Blockbuster video stores in the state shutdown.
ARKANSAS: 150 People Laid Off From the Walmart Optical Lab
CALIFORNIA: In San Louis Opisbo, after 45 years Betty’s Fabrics shutdown. Alaska USA Federal Credit Union issued a shutdown WARN for its operations in Apple Valley, 135 jobs gone by the end of August! Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo issued a shutdown WARN for its Irvine ops, 126 jobs gone in August! Banc of California eliminated 45 jobs in Santa Ana. Stearns Lending issued a shutdown WARN for its Santa Ana ops, 136 jobs gone in September! Airlines Swissport South Africa issued a shutdown WARN for its LAX ops, 829 jobs gone in September! Best Buy issued a shutdown WARN for its Long Beach store, 68 jobs gone by October. Selma Hote laying off 81 people in September. BMA Car Wash issued a shutdown WARN for its Canoga Park location, 47 jobs gone in September. In Peteluma, property management company Pyramid Petaluma Management eliminating 89 jobs in September.
FLORIDA: After 30 years, Massachusetts based gas station operator shutdown the only two Cumberland Farms gas stations in Citrus County, as part of the company’s restructuring. In Tampa Bay, employment agency CareerSource eliminating 130 jobs due to fraud investigation by the federal government! Menzies Aviation eliminating 21 jobs at Tampa International Airport.
HAWAII: Jack’s Tours shutdown due to crashing tourism caused by the volcano.
IDAHO: In Twin Falls, Elite Health Club forced to shutdown because “The owner of the building was not willing to renew the lease with us.”
ILLINOIS: New York owned Chicago stock exchange laid off 11 people. In Rockford, after 48 years Fisher’s Ethan Allen furniture store shutdown. After 72 years, Curtis Brothers Furniture & Mattress shutting down when the inventory is gone. Famous Footwear shutting down its store in Fairview Heights, at the Lincoln Place Shopping Center. Graphic designer Schawk issued a layoff WARN, 55 jobs lost to crashing sales. Too Big to Jail JPMorgan Chase issued a shutdown WARN, 53 jobs in Downers Grove gone in September.
INDIANA: Fleet Services eliminating 25 jobs in Fort Wayne, due to the city not renewing the taxpayer funded contract. Walmart suddenly laid off 108 people from its Optical Lab in Crawfordsville, no warning!
KENTUCKY: After 119 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) furniture shop Alles Brothers shutdown by its new owner the Catholic Church. The store founder died last month and willed the shop to the church.
LOUISIANA: In Baton Rouge, after 30 years Classic Jewelers shutdown so the owners can travel.
MICHIGAN: In Saint Johns, after 37 years Radio Shack-Clinton Electronics shutting down in August. After seven decades Teboe Flourist shutdown due to increased competition.
MINNESOTA: AAA (American Automobile Association) shutdown its office in Mankato, because the lack of customer traffic didn’t “justify it”. In Rochester, after more than 50 years The Barber’s Hut shutdown. In Excelsior Mill, after 34 years gift store DB & Company shutdown. In Alexandria, the owners of the 54 years old Ben Franklin Crafts remember when there was no such thing as minimum wage and they were paid only 25 cents per hour, now they’re forced to shutdown the store they’ve owned since the 1960s, not because of big box competition but because of taxpayer funded gentrification and online shopping: “We survived Target. We survived Walmart, but we couldn’t survive the road construction and we can’t survive the Internet.”-Judy Meyer, co-owner
MISSOURI: Law firm Lathrop Gage shutdown its Springfield office due to all the employees at that office being hired by a competitor!
NEW JERSEY: In Trenton, after 110 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Perlstein Plumbing shutdown blaming online competition, however local news media says the owners of the old-school plumbing store can find plumbing parts faster than a search on Google! The saddest shopping mall in America, Burlington Center, shutting down by September (when the last store, a Sears, shutdown). Natirar Resort Development eliminating 160 jobs in September! Toys R Us eliminating 212 jobs in Wayne!
NEW YORK: Islamic State supporting Hobby Lobby shutdown its store in Depew, local news media pointed out that a year ago the ‘christian’ owner of Hobby Lobby swore he was not going to shutdown stores! NYC based JetBlue warning of mass layoffs due to restructuring. In Upper West Side-NYC, after 57 years Laytner’s Linen & Home shutdown because in the past few years “business was not good.” In Gates, after 72 years Becker’s Furniture shutdown so the tired third gen owner can focus on being an author. Walmart issued a shutdown WARN for its White Plains store, 396 jobs gone by November! Sterling National Bank issued shutdown WARNs for its Melville Financial Center and East Rockaway Financial Center. Canandaigua Hotel Corporation-Inn on the Lake issued a shutdown warn, 202 jobs gone, supposedly temporarily, due to remodeling! In Ithica, Vanguard Printing issued a shutdown WARN, 120 jobs gone by the end of October! Spa Bliss World issued a shutdown WARN for its NYC Lexington Avenue location, 89 jobs gone in September.
NORTH CAROLINA: In Winston-Salem, after 26 years Long Jewelers shutdown due to increasing online competition. Gildan Activewear shutting down its ops in Hildebran, at least 1-hundred jobs gone by mid-September! It’s blamed on “changes in the marketplace.”
OHIO: DTV-Danny Vegh’s Home Entertainment retailer now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to a lawsuit saying it hasn’t paid back-due rent on stores that were shutdown. PNC Bank issued a shutdown WARN for its call center, 96 jobs gone by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. In Cincinnati, after 80 years Greenhills Barber Shop shutdown due to years of crashing sales, with the final nail being the landlord jacked up the rent. In Zanesville, after 25 years Then & Now Antiques shutdown, the owner blames gentrification: “…Zanesville needs to save some of its history. People in Ohio and the United States go to Europe to see the old past – we’ve got it here, but we’re tearing it down.”-Shirley Labaki
PENNSYLVANIA: FYE (For Your Entertainment) shutdown its store at the Lycoming Mall. Battlespace Flight Services suddenly shutdown. In Greensburg, after more than 30 years Patty Weir’s Paperbacks shutting down in August after failed attempts to sell it, local news media said it was the only book store in town. Bling Bridal now chapter 7 bankrupt busted and being liquidated, people who had paid for orders were told no orders will be delivered. After 67 years the Erie Sport Store shutting down when the inventory is gone. In Wilkes-Barre, British empire Canada owned clothing retailer Lord & Taylor laid off 83 ‘fulfillment center’ workers, this is apparently in addition to the 202 jobs eliminated in April! In Locust, Palachick’s General Store sold-off due to the owner’s bad health, one loyal customer is old enough to remember when there were no credit cards and credit was based on the honor system, and it obviously worked: “There were times when they would write down what we owed them. We could come and pay them later.”-Cynthia Raugh
SOUTH CAROLINA: In Bennetsville, after 25 years close-out clothier Hi-Lites shutdown with no explanation from the corporate owners. Jewelry Warehouse shutting down its Harbison location due to not being able to renew the lease.
SOUTH DAKOTA: In Watertown, after 114 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Mahowald’s Hardware is for sale and will shutdown if a buyer is not found soon.
TENNESSEE: Bad health forcing the owner of four years old Clementine’s Women’s Boutique to shut it down.
TEXAS: In El Paso, after 58 years Holland’s Department Store shutdown, the owner said in the 1960s the cost of living was so low, and the economy so good, that his father started the store with only $1-thousand USD, however James Holland said “Business has been tough the last five years…With the internet going on, you have to reinvent the business…Sometimes to reinvent, you have to start from scratch.” Too Big to Jail Bank of America shutting down its office on Midwestern Parkway, in Wichita Falls, by the end of October. In Midland, after several decades Terry’s Kids Shoes shutdown due to not being able to compete, even after spending $20-thousand USD remodeling the shop. The owners blamed ‘big box’, online, and even the city of Midland: “…it’s just too hard for a small shop, like us, family-owned, to compete with the big stores and online shopping….The location wasn’t great back here. The city wouldn’t let us put signs up without fining us a ton.”-Marcella Cato, co-owner
VERMONT: In Danby, White’s Fuel Stop now up for sale, asking $175-thousand USD.
VIRGINIA: After more than 97 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Bluefield based Magic Mart shutting down all 16 stores between now and September, saying “… the difficult economic conditions that continue to persist in the markets we operate in have left the company no other choice.” In Lynchburg, after four years comic book seller Star Port shutting down in August, blaming online competition.
WASHINGTON: In West Seattle, after 50 years Terjung’s Studio of Gifts shutdown, the owner blames his 88 years of age and crashing sales for his decisions to retire. What housing market recovery? Kent based online mortgage company The Money Store suddenly laid off 60 people, without warning, executives claim the layoffs are part of their ‘growth’ plan.
WISCONSIN: In Milwaukee, after five years Rusty Sprockets Antiques shutting down in August so the owners can focus on their more profitable coffee shop. In Superior, Engwall Florists shutdown due to the decision to consolidate stores into fewer locations. In Lake Geneva, after seven years second hand store Chris Ann’s Helping Hands shutdown. In Madison, after 18 years Capitol Kids shutting down in August, the owner blames the anti-mom & pop attitudes of toy and kids clothing makers/suppliers. Gold’s Gym shutdown its Waukesha location due to “unsuccessful negotiations regarding its rent structure.”
U.S. RETAIL/BANKING/SERVICE SECTOR COLLAPSE, JUNE 2018: “ANEMIC”
U.S. FOOD CRISIS, JULY 2018: “THE RISE OF BIG BOX STORES”
SEARS KMART DEATH SPIRAL, JULY 2018: “THIS WAS THE SLOWEST ICEBERG HIT.”
U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, JULY 2018: “WE NEED TO GET THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OUT OF THEM.”
U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS layoffs, JULY 2018: “GET YOUR STUFF IT’S TIME TO LEAVE.”
U.S. GOVERNMENT SHENANIGANS, JULY 2018: TAXES & NEW LAWS PROVE IT’S NO LAND OF THE FREE!
DUMBING DOWN THE U.S.A., JULY 2018: SCHOOL CRIMES SKYROCKETING!
OBAMACARE ACA DEATH SPIRAL, JULY 2018: ‘PHANTOM MEDICAL’ CLAIMS
DRUGS, THE AMERICAN WAY, JULY 2018: “A STATE OF NEAR DEATH.”