Incomplete list of U.S. job loss announcements and shutdowns.
Connecticut: In Manchester, after 27 years Choice Video shutting down by the end of the month. The owner of the video business did not blame declining sales but “the escalating cost of operating a small business.” (especially rent)
Florida: Boca Raton based Cancer Treatment Centers of America revealed it laid off 350 people across the U.S.! Administrators blame ObamaCare referring to it as “the reality of the emerging healthcare economy”. In Miramar, United Health issued a WARN, 68 jobs gone by July as the insurance company begins dropping ObamaCare plans. In Sarasota, Direct Energy issued a WARN, 159 property management jobs gone between July 2016 and April 2018!
Georgia: Another fine example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs (REL). In Augusta, Resolute Forest Products eliminating 95 jobs due to crashing paper sales to newspaper publishers.
Pocatello Wing It eatery no more.
Idaho: In Pocatello, the Wing It chicken wing joint recently shutdown.
Illinois: Sports analytics provider to news media Stats eliminating 50 jobs, on top of the 30 jobs eliminated back in October.
Kansas: In Hutchinson, after 63 yeas Johnson Music store shutting down.
Maryland: Silver Spring based Discovery Communications warning of impending employee buyouts and mass layoffs, this after the CEO took a 79% pay-cut last year! The job cuts are expected to be finalized by 3rd quarter 2016.
Nebraska: Hastings Public Schools shutting down 85 years old (surviving The Great [deflationary] Depression and numerous recessions) Morton Elementary. The shutdown decision was made six years ago.
New Jersey: Lakeland Bank shutting down their Hewitt office in July. In Princeton, after more than 20 years the Masala Grill shutting down next week because the greedy landlord jacked up the rent.
New York: Too Big to Jail Goldman Sachs continues to kill sales jobs, admitting that the economy is so bad for its traditional elite clients that it is forced to hit up ‘commoner’ investors for cash. In Buffalo, popular restaurant Martin Cooks being forced to shutdown by the end of the month. The operators say they’re looking for a new location. British empire Chartwells Dining Services lost its contract with Polytechnic Institute of NYU, 39 jobs lost by the end of the month. Harris Publications suddenly shutdown its NYC ops, 65 jobs lost at the end of last month. Sears Holdings issued a shutdown WARN for its Plattsburgh Sears store and Auto Center, 56 jobs lost by the end of July. Power Drives is moving its factory from Falconer to Buffalo, 96 jobs affected.
Ohio: Cincinnati Museum Center laying off 60 people in anticipation of the renovation of Union Terminal (it’s location), which will result in the museum losing $6-million USD in yearly ticket sales for the next two years!
Pennsylvania: Fabricator NuWeld has defaulted (apparently because their bank accounts were frozen) and now shutting down their Williamsport factory, 150 jobs lost due to the oil industry BS! Local news reports say those 150 employees won’t be getting their final paychecks because NuWeld is totally broke-busted! Education Management issued a shutdown WARN for its Pittsburgh location, 222 jobs gone by July! France based Sodexo lost its food contract with Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, 108 jobs gone by the end of June!
Texas: Marshall Grain shutting down their 70 years old Fort Worth store by the end of June, due to crashing sales and skyrocketing crime in the neighborhood (due to more and more people losing their jobs, the city’s own crime stat website shows that since February, 27 crimes took place in that specific neighborhood)!
Virginia: In Madison County, after 180 years (surviving The Great [deflationary] Depression and numerous recessions) E.A. Clore Sons “will cease manufacturing our handcrafted furniture within the year.” Local news reports didn’t explain why, but implied it was due to competition with cheap-o fiber board furniture people buy at places like Walmart.
04 May 2016: “a terrible freakin’ thing!”
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.”