U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 13 – 14 October 2014: “…they’re all gone, they’ve ceased to exist.”

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

California:  What automotive industry recovery?  In Sacramento, Harrold Ford car dealer gave state employment administrators a two days notice of laying off 120 employees!  The WARN posting says reason “Not known at this time”.  In Pleasant Hills, Save Mart announced their Lucky grocery store will shutdown in November, 65 jobs lost.  Save Mart administrators blamed the “intense nonunion competitive environment”.  After 48 years The San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper shutdown, blaming “the economic reality”.

Colorado: The WOLF Sanctuary now bankrupt busted due to the High Park fire.

Illinois: Chicago based CME Group announced it will kill at least 150 tech jobs in order to control “expenses”.  The announcment made investors happy.

Indiana: In Fort Wayne, after 38 years a Time Corners Pizza Hut on Covington Road shutdown due to crashing sales.

Iowa: Six Des Moines area CherryBerry self serve yogurt stores shutdown. Apparently the self serve concept didn’t playout, as the owner said sales totally crashed since last summer.

Louisiana: New Orleans based Peter Mayer Advertising laid off 40 employees after losing a big Century Link contract.

Maryland: In Ellicott City, after 36 years the owners of the Shanty Grille (Crab Shanty) announced they will shutdown after Xmas. The owners called the bad economy a losing uphill battle.

Massachusetts: What automotive industry recovery? Boston based Hill Holiday advertising laying off employees after losing GM’s Cadillac contract.

Nevada: In Las Vegas, only a few months after opening the SLS resort hotel, operators are now laying off an undisclosed number of employees due to lack of business.  The SLS is the result of a $415-million USD remodel of the old Sahara casino.

Pennsylvania: O’Hara Township based Giant Eagle supermarket shutdown in-store child care service at 61 stores across Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Texas: After 113 years (surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) Coppel based ALCO (formerly Duckwall-ALCO) is now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and liquidating all 198 stores across the United States, at least 3-thousand jobs lost!  In Addison, Too Big to Jail Bank of America laying off another 75 employees.

West Virginia: After 36 years Winfield Hardware shutdown.   One of the founders of the store said it was the last locally owned hardware store in the area: “We had one in Nitro, one in Poca, one in Eleanor, one in Winfield, and they’re all gone, they’ve ceased to exist.”-Ronnie Matthews

10-12 October 2014

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.