Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

California: Without warning, Los Angeles based bankrupt American Apparel began laying off employees in The (not so) Golden State.  By the end of next week 450 people will be jobless!  More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t directly blame the internet/high-tech for your demise; San Francisco based health tech diagnostic company Counsyl laid off 27 people, despite boasting of “double digit” demand for their carrier screening services.

Colorado: In Cameo, after 58 years Eagles Nest Family Dining shutdown.  The restaurant was sold to a Texas based corporation in 2015, and they’ve decided it wasn’t making enough money.

Connecticut: Immucor Transplant Diagnostics issued a shutdown WARN for its Stamford location, 59 jobs lost by the beginning of June.

Florida: In Doral, ‘entertainment developer’ DLA laying off 92 people between May and November.  The Ritz Carlton issued a WARN for their Bal Harbor food service ops in Miami, 89 jobs lost by mid-June.

Idaho: In Twin Falls, after 37 years God powerless to stop ‘unofficial’ Mormon Bell’s Family Books from being shutdown by ‘official’ Mormon bookstore Deseret Book! You read right!  Local news reports say Bell’s Family Books was facing increasing competition, the final straw being when their own religion opened a bookstore down the street.

Illinois:  Highland Community College eliminating six jobs, blaming the failed ‘law makers’ for failing to come up with a state budget. Highland Community College is also jacking up tuition!  In Elgin, God powerless to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ 50 years old Messiah Lutheran Church.  The property was sold to competitor Greek Orthodox Church.  After 34 years thrift store Kenneth Young Center Resale Shop shutting down when the previously owned inventory is gone, as well as halting their funding of programs for children with mental health problems.  The operator blames the failed state ‘lawmakers’: “…Illinois is the only state in the nation without a budget, decisions are being made where the most vulnerable people are suffering.”– Susan Cowan, CEO

Kentucky: Beauty First shutting down both its Louisville stores by the end of May, blaming crashed sales on competition from the internet, and jacked up rent by greedy property owners.

Maine: Gov’na Paul LePage warned that 9-hundred people in York County will become unemployed, due to their employer getting the hell outta Dodge! LePage refused to say which un-American corporation was fleeing the state.

North Carolina:  Local news reports say that since January 5-thousand 8-hundred people in North Carolina have been laid off!  New York based Croscill Home-Ex-Cell Home Fashions-Glenoit issued a layoff WARN, 50 distribution jobs gone by June.

Ohio:  Pilot Thomas Logistics issued a layoff WARN for their Fracking support (aka Frac) ops, 58 jobs gone by April.

Oklahoma: In Tulsa, when pressured by local news Chart Cooler Service admitted they laid off employees, but still refused to say how many.   They blamed it on the oil industry BS.

Pennsylvania: NHS Youth Services issued a WARN for their
Northwestern Academy, but failed to say how many people were losing their jobs.

South Dakota: Southeast Technical Institute warned of layoffs due to crashing student enrollment.

Texas:  In Dallas, Select Medical issued a WARN, 77 jobs gone by the end of May.  In El Paso, Schenker Logistics laying off nine employees by July.  DuPont issued a layoff WARN for its La Porte ops, 17 jobs lost by the end of May.  Denmark based Maersk Drilling revealed it  laid off an additional 57 people in Houston, just a few weeks after laying off 35.

California based Chevron laid off 655 people at its Houston ops!  The former employees are getting severance, which means they will not be counted as unemployed in the ‘official’ unemployment reports.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

07 April 2016: “it’s time to move on”

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.”