Incomplete list of U.S. job loss announcements and shutdowns.
Alabama: After 55 years McCollum’s Catfish and Seafood Restaurant shutting down next week, the owner saying “Food cost have gone up, and we just don’t have the business to keep it open.”
Arizona: In Phoenix, Sir Veza’s Taco Garage suddenly shutdown its Speedway location because “It just didn’t fit our needs anymore.” California based internet health insurance management company YourPeople-Zenefits shutting down their Grand Canyon State sales office, at least 1-hundred jobs lost!
Arkansas: Bentonville based Walmart is ending the acceptance of Visa credit cards in Canada, due to jacked up credit card fees for Canadian retailers.
California: Irvine based hobby industry remote controlled vehicle maker Novak Electronics (aka TeamNovak) suddenly shutdown after 38 years: “We are announcing that we have decided to close down our operations effective today. This decision was difficult to make, as this has been a family business spanning two generations.”-Novak family statement
In Bell, critically praised restaurant Corazon y Miel shutting down next week, however the owners swear they will resurrect their popular eatery in the future, somewhere in Los Angeles. Oxnard based Mandalay Berry Farms shutting down, 565 jobs gone by the end of July! The Farm Bureau of Ventura County did not blamed it on the drought, but on three years of crashing prices for berries.
Indiana: Despite surviving The Great Depression and numerous recession, god powerless to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ Saint Mark’s Catholic Church. In White Township, after 17 years Ironwood Grill shutting down by the end of the month. It’s blamed on a combination of unaffordable upgrades and a disagreement with the landlord. What automotive industry recovery? 
In Middlebury, motor-home builder Evergreen RV suddenly shutdown last week, employees were simply told not to come to work this week, 4-hundred jobs lost! Local news reports say up until the sudden shutdown employees were told the company was doing well financially, and was actually in ‘growth mode’. Some employees had just been hired. Motor-home dealers confirmed they were told the company is dead, because when a company goes out of business the product’s warranty is void. So far company administrators have refused to explain what is going on.
Kentucky: Blackhawk Mining issued a shutdown WARN, more than 2-hundred jobs gone between now and August!
Maryland: New Windsor junior high and three other Carrol County schools shutting down now, due to crashing enrollments and taxpayer funding.
Michigan: In Midland, Oscar’s Bar & Grill shutting down on Wednesday, according to employees. The owners refused to talk to local news media.
New York: In NYC, Ansonia Laundromat shutdown this past Sunday, blaming crashing revenues. NYC based animator Frederator Networks laid off 15 people, calling it “a fairly typical restructuring”.
Oklahoma: Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College eliminating three programs, raising tuition by 9% and eliminating 27 jobs, blaming reduced taxpayer funding.
Pennsylvania: In Chadds Ford, Chef Anthony’s Italian Market shutting down this Sunday, due to competition from larger operations.
Tennessee: Shelby County Schools ordered the 60 years old Carver High School shuttered. It’s been ‘temporarily’ closed since 2013. School administrators say the combination of crashing enrollment, funding and student achievement requires them to permanently shutdown schools.
Texas: What automotive industry recovery? In Houston, Too Big to Jail JP Morgan Chase eliminating 90 car loan jobs.
Virginia: In Reston, after five years Baby Blossom supply and gifts shutting down next week because the property has been sold by the greedy landlord.
Washington: Once again Seattle based Amazon is in trouble. This time it’s being fined $350-thousand USD by the FAA after United Parcel Service employees were sickened by a chemical reaction in some packages from Amazon. Those packages were filled with chemical cleaners, which are banned in the U.S. from being shipped by air. The chemical cleaning product is called Amazing Liquid Fire, and the UPS employees said they felt like they were burning after fumes came from the package.
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.”