Stems, a major flower supplier to grocery stores and other retailers in Florida, Texas and Georgia, now bankrupt.
In Illinois, U.S. Cellular announced that as many as 600 people will lose their jobs! It’s part of the takeover by Sprint. Also, heavy equipment maker, Caterpillar, will layoff at least 460 people in June! Company officials blame declining sales.
What automotive recovery? California based hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive laid off about 175 people! Company officials blame the Obama administration for cancelling a $529 million USD loan last year.
In Florida, United Space Alliance laid off 68 people. The final layoffs as a result of the retirement of the Space Shuttle. Also, hundreds of government contractors were laid off with little or no notice, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base: “I just bought a new house in October thinking I had a pretty secure job. And that’s not the case. Just got my lay off notice.”-Dustin Rhoades, contracted firefighter
The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware, laid off 25% of employees. Ticket sales have been down, as well as corporate donations. Main Street Sliders restaurant closed down in Newark. The owner blames the bad economy and credit cards: “My fixed costs have started to outweigh my income. This used to be a cash heavy business. Today as much as 80% of my business is in credit cards.”-Jason Voit
In Tennessee, 32 people lost their jobs with cell phone insurer Asurion.
Front Street Books in Marathon, Texas, closed.
In Alabama, Books-A-Million closed its Tuscaloosa store. The Books-A-Million chain lost $2.8 million at the end of their last fiscal year! Also, the Gap clothing store closed their University Mall location.
Italian-American restaurant, Serafina, closed their Concord, Massachusetts operation. The owners were done in by the bad economy: “It has been an up and down ride for the last seven years….We worked 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. We thought it was time for us to move on.”-Sam Cannarozzi
In Maryland, Kids Consignments closed in Edgewater.
Language software company, Rosetta Stone, announced they will close 56 kiosk locations, and layoff 245 people! This is after they laid off 70 people back in March.
What automotive recovery? In Indiana, Hy-Matic Manufacturing shut down after 50 years of operations. The owners of the automotive parts supplier say they lost their two biggest contracts.
In Potsdam, New York, the Sugar Creek/Wilson Farms store closed down. It might be connected to the 2011 takeover by 7-Eleven.