Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Alabama: British empire Canada owned Cinram Operations shutdown its recently acquired Cottonwood factory without warning, at least 100 jobs lost! Cinram bought the factory from Japan owned JVC in 2014.
Alaska: The city of Sitka is so broke they are tearing up their paved roads and using gravel, because they can no longer afford to maintain paved roads!
California: Foothill Ranch based Wet Seal said Happy New Year by unleashing their “Store Project” operation which will shutdown 338 stores and render about 37-hundred (3,695 according to the press release, that about half its employees) people jobless in 2015! In Pacoima, Brice Manufacturing (aka China based HAECO Americas, formerly known as TIMCO Aviation Services) issued a WARN saying they will shutdown seat manufacturing in March, 61 jobs affected. In Stockton, ASCO Power Tech issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in April, at least 104 jobs lost! In Woodland, Genco issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in March, 50 jobs lost. Rabobank issued a WARN saying it will shutdown its Imperial office in March, 79 jobs lost. Australian owned unfair and unbalanced Fox Networks Group will layoff 75 advertising sales reps when they consolidate their broadcast and cable sales departments. In Glendale and La Crescenta, after almost 70 years Pedrini Music announced it will shutdown both stores in Febraury. In East Sacramento, after four years Clark’s Corner Bar & Restaurant shutdown without notice. Local news said only that there were no plans to re-open.
Connecticut: What automotive industry recovery? In Greenwich, after more than 15 years Karl Automotive Service shutdown. The owner blamed the skyrocketing rent, costs of repairing vehicles and radical changes in factory vehicle warranties: “…the nature of the business has changed significantly in that manufacturers have become more proprietary with their electronics and technology, so we were looking at realistically an investment of another $50,000 to $100,000 in capital for new diagnostic tools!”-Karl Chevrolet
Florida: Jacksonville based women’s ‘clubbing’ clothing chain store Body Central went bankrupt then suddenly decided to shutdown all 265 stores in the United States, 2-thousand 5-hundred jobs lost!
Georgia: Atlanta based iconic Coca-Cola announced it will add another 18-hundred job cuts to the previously announced 2-thousand!
Illinois: What automotive industry recovery? Heavy vehicle maker Caterpillar continued job culling, this time in Decatur and Peoria. 220 people became unemployed due to crashing sales to the mining industry (which includes the oil industry, oil is mined out of the ground)! Iconic McDonald’s announced it will kill off 63 jobs at its Oak Harbor HQ in February. Burger joint administrators admitted that their sales sucked ass for the past 13 months. And administrators of McDonald’s Japan are reeling from crashing sales caused by food shortages, which in turn are being caused by a strike by dock workers on the U.S. west coast which has halted U.S. potato shipments to McDonald’s Japan, and food sabotage (strange things being found in the food).
Indiana: General Mills announced they will shutdown their New Albany Pillsbury frigerated food factory by 2016, at least 400 jobs lost! Company administrators said they have “excess capacity”. That’s corporate speak for too much supply and not enough demand for their products (aka a suck ass economy).
Maine: Bath Iron Works laid off 48 ship builders, due to lack of work.
Michigan: In Ann Arbor, after only 17 months Dancing Dog Gallery shutdown, the owners simply said “We’ve been losing money.” They explained that their rent, alone, was $5-thousand per month! What housing market recovery? In Detroit, “One in seven Detroit residents is threatened with eviction due to tax foreclosure in 2015, according to data compiled by Loveland Technologies.”!!!!!!!
Montana: In Missoula, after 41 years Curley’s restaurant was shutdown and sold off. The manager told local news that the reasons for the sale are private.
New York: In Pomona, Israel based Teva Pharmaceuticals issued a WARN saying they started laying off employees back in December 2014, and it will continue until March 2015. In Irving, TLC Health Network/Lake Shore Health Care Center issued a WARN saying Obama Care forcing them to shutdown their long term care ops in April, 70 jobs lost. In Flushing, Spirit Airlines issued a WARN saying they will layoff at least 29 employees in April. Company administrators are trying to save money by contracting out those jobs.
Ohio: After 34 years Olga’s Kitchen shutdown their Franklin Park Mall store. Cincinnati based Macy’s department store has announced new shutdowns for 2015. At least 14 stores to be shutdown and as many as 2-thousand 5-hundred people to be rendered jobless! In Akron, Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal shutdown. The pissed off owner blames it on bad publicity after a Texas nurse infected with ebola stopped in: “We had a big opening and we had hoped that the publicity may even have been a good thing, but now we are the Ebola Shop. Customers are tired of hearing ‘Oh, you bought it at the Ebola Shop.‘”-Anna Younker to the Northeast Ohio Media Group
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh based Education Management shutdown all its Art Institutes across the U.S., killing at least 225 jobs! Education Management is in big trouble with the federal Department of Education for basically bribing students and violating other federal education laws. It’s been revealed that the Amazon distribution center near Crafton is now for sale by the property owner, Rugby Realty, who refuses to explain why. In East Liberty, Notion Restaurant shutdown without notice and is now for sale, despite making the local list of 25 best restaurants. Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust announced they are selling off their Washington Crown Center and Uniontown Mall. The evil REIT already sold off $191.7-million worth of commercial property in 2014!
South Carolina: A Piggly Wiggly grocery store shutting down in Summerton. But don’t blame competition, it’s the only grocery store in town! It’s a result of the massive shutdown of Piggly Wiggly stores across the United States.
South Dakota: In Sioux Falls, ‘fair trade’ store Ten Thousand Villages shutdown. Apparently ‘fair trade’ doesn’t sell, but the owner blamed “location”.
Texas: Plano based JCPenney announced at least seven more store shutdowns, two in South Carolina, three in Ohio, at least one in Illinois and in New York for 2015. The South Carolina stores will be shutdown at the beginning of March. The Illinois, New York and two of the Ohio stores will close in April. A third Ohio store will close in May. One report says more stores will be shutdown and 2-thousand 2-hundred jobs will be affected! Dallas based Southwest Airlines ended their AirTran flights from Milwaukee to Atlanta and Atlanta to Tampa.
Virginia: What automotive industry recovery? In Salem, Japan owned Yokohama Tire laid off 31 people and cut Friday work hours down by two. Does this have anything to do with the fact that Yokohama was bribed with $130-million in tax incentives to build a new factory in Columbus, Mississippi?
Washington: After 20 years Seattle based Zombie Studios shutdown. The video game maker even worked with the U.S. Army to create video games to train soldiers.
Wisconsin: In Glendale, women’s clothing shop Lise & Kato’s shutdown. Here’s what the pissed off owners had to say: “The retail industry, both locally and nationally, has dramatically changed in the last decade. We cannot continue the type of business we have proudly had for these many years: Fair and honest pricing, quality merchandise from principled artists and responsible designers, and attentive customer service. The economic climate, changes in shopping habits, and the transition to an online and mass merchant dominance have all contributed to the closing.”
04-06-January-2015: Individuals flee New York en masse!
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.