Category Archives: Business/Economics

“a 45-percent decline”: U.S. industrial/mining/logistics layoffs, August 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss/shutdown announcements made in August 2018.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Forbes: What Does The Future Hold For Shipping And Logistics?

South China Morning Post: Walmart  & JD.com invest US$500 million in Chinese logistics service

MarketWatch: Manufacturing jobs growing at fastest rate in 23 years

USA TODAY: There’s a fierce battle over your bed: Industry goes to the mattresses

ALABAMA: Car parts maker Federal-Mogul eliminating an additional 47 jobs at its factory in Jacksonville, in September.  Since December 2017,  Federal-Mogul has killed at least 121 jobs in Alabama.

ALASKA: Vigor Alaska eliminating 80 shipyard jobs by Xmas, due to lack of contracts.

CALIFORNIA: Taxpayer funded General Dynamics eliminating 1-thousand-493 NASSCO jobs (according to official WARN) in San Diego, by the end of September, supposedly due to an accident involving a USN ship and a new floating dry dock!  Automotive industry company MIDA Industries issued a layoff WARN for its ops in Fremont, 55 jobs gone by September.  Jacobson Warehouse Company issued a shutdown WARN for its Tracy location, 74 jobs gone by mid-October. Golden State Overnight Delivery Service eliminating 158 jobs in Santa Fe and Ontario, by the end of September!

The Bakersfield Californian: Central Valley officials join push to end California oil production

IndustryWeek: Fire at Tesla factory in Fremont

Markets Insider: auto industry suppliers are worried about Tesla going bankrupt

COLORADO:  Wood pellet maker Confluence Energy now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to having more debts than assets, the owner says wood pellet sales started dropping after petroleum prices started going down in 2010.

CONNECTICUT: France based pen/lighter maker Bic began laying off people at its Milford lighter refill factory, so far 25 people have been let go due to a sudden 11% crash in lighter sales.

FLORIDA: Taxsucker Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky eliminating 5-hundred jobs, near Jupiter, due to the U.S. government buying fewer Black Hawk helicopters!

GEORGIA: What economic recovery? Anchor Glass eliminating 150 jobs (half its Georgia employees) and shutting down a production line in Warner Robins, due to crashing sales of its products!  Industry ‘solutions’ company Alorica laid off 635 people!  Pillow maker Hollander Sleep Products eliminating 225 jobs!

HAWAII: Island Energy Services halts oil refinery ops, 85 jobs gone.

ILLINOIS:  Stack-On-Products moving 150 Chicago area jobs to Mexico, supposedly to avoid Chinese tariffs! Japan based rail car maker Nippon Sharyo shutting down its failed six years old Rochelle factory, hundreds of U.S. jobs lost due to crashing sales, and its prototype double-decker passenger car failing safety tests.  Rail support company Auto Releasing issued a WARN, 68 jobs gone as a result of losing a contract with Fiat-Chrysler.  Home light fixture maker Acuity Brands Lighting issued a WARN, 298 jobs in Des Plain gone due to “reorganization”!  Urethane product maker Armacell issued a WARN, 87 jobs in South Holland gone mid-October.   Tobacco wholesaler Follett Higher Ed Group-Aurora Service Center issued a WARN, 81 jobs gone by February 2019.

IOWA:  It was discovered that RV maker Winnebago quietly laid off 35 people, in Forest City, at the end of July.

KENTUCKY:  Ladder maker Werner shutting down its Louisville factory, 119 jobs gone by March 2019!

MINNESOTA: Mattress maker Tempur-Sealy shutting down its Saint Paul factory, eliminating 99 jobs in September due to “the closure of a large customer’s nearby distribution center”.  First Transit issued a WARN, 90 jobs in Roseville gone by October.

NEW YORK: General Electric (GE) continues job killing, this time 225 jobs in Schenectady being eliminated due to “ongoing challenges facing the power industry and a 45-percent decline in volume”!

NORTH CAROLINA:  Bankrupt furniture maker Heritage Home Group shutting down Broyhill factories in Caldwell County, 712 jobs gone due to failed attempts to sell-off Broyhill!  A bankruptcy judge set an auction date of 18OCT2018 for Heritage Home Group brands Broyhill and Thomasville.  Paper-packaging maker WestRock shutting down its factory in Charlotte, 170 jobs gone due to consolidation ops, starting in October!

OKLAHOMA: Oil company Phillips-Conoco suddenly laid off 1-hundred people in Oklahoma and Texas, as part of plans to layoff thousands of people over the next few years!

PENNSYLVANIA: Battery maker Axion Power now chapter 7 bankrupt and liquidating. Korea based Hyundai shutting down its now failed rail car factory in Philadelphia, 3-hundred jobs gone due to faulty welding on many rebuilt taxpayer funded SEPTA rail cars!  Dedicated Logistics issued a shutdown WARN for its ops in Langhorn, 120 jobs gone by the end of October!  Steel maker ArcelorMittal Plate laying off 47 people by November.

TENNESSEE: Construction vehicle maker Caterpillar shutting down its Dyersburg factory, 85 jobs gone by October.

Knoxville News Sentinel: EPA, NRC killed nuclear power industry

TEXAS: The maker of Dickies work clothes, Williamson-Dickie, shutting down its factory in Uvalde, 150 U.S. jobs being moved to Mexico by Xmas!

ConocoPhillips plans ‘modest’ job cuts

VIRGINIA: Bristol Compressors shutting down its factory, 470 jobs gone by Xmas, because “business has been struggling for years”!

Washington DC: Trump Signals Drawdown Of The Strategic Petroleum Reserve

CNBC: Auto industry caught in the trade war crosshairs

WISCONSIN: Office products maker ACCO shutting down its factory in Pleasant Prairie, 54 jobs gone by Xmas.  Trailer hitch maker CURT Manufacturing moving its Eau Claire electrical ops to Mexico, but claims that business is so good they’ll find new jobs for the affected U.S. workers.

U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS SHUTDOWNS, JULY 2018:  “GET YOUR STUFF IT’S TIME TO LEAVE.”

“We survived Target. We survived Walmart, but we couldn’t survive the road construction…”: U.S. retail/banking/service sector collapse, July 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. retail/banking/service sector job loss WARNings and store shutdowns made or announced in July 2018:

WFMYNews2.com: These 11 retailers may not survive 2018

The Washington Post: Millions of educated, experienced workers have been tossed aside

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

ALABAMA: After 83 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Zoghby’s Department Store shutdown so the owners can focus on their more profitable commercial real estate business.  After 70 years Friedman’s Fine Jewelry shutdown.

ALASKA:  The last two Blockbuster video stores in the state shutdown.

ARKANSAS: 150 People Laid Off From the Walmart Optical Lab

CALIFORNIA: In San Louis Opisbo, after 45 years Betty’s Fabrics shutdown.  Alaska USA Federal Credit Union issued a shutdown WARN for its operations in Apple Valley, 135 jobs gone by the end of August!  Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo issued a shutdown WARN for its Irvine ops, 126 jobs gone in August!  Banc of California eliminated 45 jobs in Santa Ana.  Stearns Lending issued a shutdown WARN for its Santa Ana ops, 136 jobs gone in September!  Airlines Swissport South Africa issued a shutdown WARN for its LAX ops, 829 jobs gone in September! Best Buy issued a shutdown WARN for its Long Beach store, 68 jobs gone by October.   Selma Hote laying off 81 people in September. BMA Car Wash issued a shutdown WARN for its Canoga Park location, 47 jobs gone in September.  In Peteluma, property management company Pyramid Petaluma Management eliminating 89 jobs in September.

FLORIDA: After 30 years, Massachusetts based gas station operator shutdown the only two Cumberland Farms gas stations in Citrus County, as part of the company’s restructuring.  In Tampa Bay, employment agency CareerSource eliminating 130 jobs due to fraud investigation by the federal government!  Menzies Aviation eliminating 21 jobs at Tampa International Airport.

HAWAII: Jack’s Tours shutdown due to crashing tourism caused by the volcano.

IDAHO: In Twin Falls, Elite Health Club forced to shutdown because “The owner of the building was not willing to renew the lease with us.” 

ILLINOIS: New York owned Chicago stock exchange laid off 11 people.  In Rockford, after 48 years Fisher’s Ethan Allen furniture store shutdown. After 72 years, Curtis Brothers Furniture & Mattress shutting down when the inventory is gone.  Famous Footwear shutting down its store in Fairview Heights, at the Lincoln Place Shopping Center.  Graphic designer Schawk issued a layoff WARN, 55 jobs lost to crashing sales. Too Big to Jail JPMorgan Chase issued a shutdown WARN, 53 jobs in Downers Grove gone in September.

INDIANA:  Fleet Services eliminating 25 jobs in Fort Wayne, due to the city not renewing the taxpayer funded contract.   Walmart suddenly laid off 108 people from its Optical Lab in Crawfordsville, no warning!

KENTUCKY: After 119 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) furniture shop Alles Brothers shutdown by its new owner the Catholic Church.  The store founder died last month and willed the shop to the church.

LOUISIANA: In Baton Rouge, after 30 years Classic Jewelers shutdown so the owners can travel.

MICHIGAN: In Saint Johns, after 37 years Radio Shack-Clinton Electronics shutting down in August.  After seven decades Teboe Flourist shutdown due to increased competition.

MINNESOTA: AAA (American Automobile Association) shutdown its office in Mankato, because the lack of customer traffic didn’t “justify it”.  In Rochester, after more than 50 years The Barber’s Hut shutdown.  In Excelsior Mill, after 34 years gift store DB & Company shutdown.  In Alexandria, the owners of the 54 years old Ben Franklin Crafts remember when there was no such thing as minimum wage and they were paid only 25 cents per hour, now they’re forced to shutdown the store they’ve owned since the 1960s, not because of big box competition but because of taxpayer funded gentrification and online shopping: “We survived Target. We survived Walmart, but we couldn’t survive the road construction and we can’t survive the Internet.”-Judy Meyer, co-owner

MISSOURI: Law firm Lathrop Gage shutdown its Springfield office due to all the employees at that office being hired by a competitor!

NEW JERSEY: In Trenton, after 110 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Perlstein Plumbing shutdown blaming online competition, however local news media says the owners of the old-school plumbing store can find plumbing parts faster than a search on Google!  The saddest shopping mall in America, Burlington Center, shutting down by September (when the last store, a Sears, shutdown).  Natirar Resort Development eliminating 160 jobs in September! Toys R Us eliminating 212 jobs in Wayne!

NEW YORK: Islamic State supporting Hobby Lobby shutdown its store in Depew, local news media pointed out that a year ago the ‘christian’ owner of Hobby Lobby swore he was not going to shutdown stores!  NYC based JetBlue warning of mass layoffs due to restructuring.  In Upper West Side-NYC, after 57 years Laytner’s Linen & Home shutdown because in the past few years “business was not good.”  In Gates, after 72 years Becker’s Furniture shutdown so the tired third gen owner can focus on being an author.  Walmart issued a shutdown WARN for its White Plains store, 396 jobs gone by November! Sterling National Bank issued shutdown WARNs for its Melville Financial Center and East Rockaway Financial Center.  Canandaigua Hotel Corporation-Inn on the Lake issued a shutdown warn, 202 jobs gone, supposedly temporarily, due to remodeling!  In Ithica, Vanguard Printing issued a shutdown WARN, 120 jobs gone by the end of October!  Spa Bliss World issued a shutdown WARN for its NYC Lexington Avenue location, 89 jobs gone in September.

NORTH CAROLINA: In Winston-Salem, after 26 years Long Jewelers shutdown due to increasing online competition. Gildan Activewear shutting down its ops in Hildebran, at least 1-hundred jobs gone by mid-September!  It’s blamed on “changes in the marketplace.”

OHIO: DTV-Danny Vegh’s Home Entertainment retailer now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to a lawsuit saying it hasn’t paid back-due rent on stores that were shutdown.  PNC Bank issued a shutdown WARN for its call center, 96 jobs gone by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.  In Cincinnati, after 80 years Greenhills Barber Shop shutdown due to years of crashing sales, with the final nail being the landlord jacked up the rent.  In Zanesville, after 25 years Then & Now Antiques shutdown, the owner blames gentrification: “…Zanesville needs to save some of its history. People in Ohio and the United States go to Europe to see the old past – we’ve got it here, but we’re tearing it down.”-Shirley Labaki

PENNSYLVANIA: FYE (For Your Entertainment) shutdown its store at the Lycoming Mall.  Battlespace Flight Services suddenly shutdown.  In Greensburg, after more than 30 years Patty Weir’s Paperbacks shutting down in August after failed attempts to sell it, local news media said it was the only book store in town.    Bling Bridal now chapter 7 bankrupt busted and being liquidated, people who had paid for orders were told no orders will be delivered.  After 67 years the Erie Sport Store shutting down when the inventory is gone.  In Wilkes-Barre, British empire Canada owned clothing retailer Lord & Taylor laid off 83 ‘fulfillment center’ workers, this is apparently in addition to the 202 jobs eliminated in April!  In Locust, Palachick’s General Store sold-off due to the owner’s bad health, one loyal customer is old enough to remember when there were no credit cards and credit was based on the honor system, and it obviously worked: “There were times when they would write down what we owed them. We could come and pay them later.”-Cynthia Raugh

SOUTH CAROLINA: In Bennetsville, after 25 years close-out clothier Hi-Lites shutdown with no explanation from the corporate owners.  Jewelry Warehouse shutting down its Harbison location due to not being able to renew the lease.

SOUTH DAKOTA: In Watertown, after 114 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Mahowald’s Hardware is for sale and will shutdown if a buyer is not found soon.

TENNESSEE: Bad health forcing the owner of four years old Clementine’s Women’s Boutique to shut it down.

TEXAS: In El Paso, after 58 years Holland’s Department Store shutdown, the owner said in the 1960s the cost of living was so low, and the economy so good, that his father started the store with only $1-thousand USD, however James Holland said “Business has been tough the last five years…With the internet going on, you have to reinvent the business…Sometimes to reinvent, you have to start from scratch.”  Too Big to Jail Bank of America shutting down its office on Midwestern Parkway, in Wichita Falls, by the end of October.  In Midland, after several decades Terry’s Kids Shoes shutdown due to not being able to compete, even after spending $20-thousand USD remodeling the shop. The owners blamed ‘big box’, online, and even the city of Midland: “…it’s just too hard for a small shop, like us, family-owned, to compete with the big stores and online shopping….The location wasn’t great back here. The city wouldn’t let us put signs up without fining us a ton.”-Marcella Cato, co-owner

VERMONT: In Danby, White’s Fuel Stop now up for sale, asking $175-thousand USD.

VIRGINIA: After more than 97 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Bluefield based Magic Mart  shutting down all 16 stores between now and September, saying “… the difficult economic conditions that continue to persist in the markets we operate in have left the company no other choice.”  In Lynchburg, after four years comic book seller Star Port shutting down in August, blaming online competition.

WASHINGTON: In West Seattle, after 50 years Terjung’s Studio of Gifts shutdown, the owner blames his 88 years of age and crashing sales for his decisions to retire.  What housing market recovery? Kent based online mortgage company The Money Store suddenly laid off 60 people, without warning, executives claim the layoffs are part of their ‘growth’ plan.

WISCONSIN: In Milwaukee, after five years Rusty Sprockets Antiques shutting down in August so the owners can focus on their more profitable coffee shop.  In Superior, Engwall Florists shutdown due to the decision to consolidate stores into fewer locations. In Lake Geneva, after seven years second hand store Chris Ann’s Helping Hands shutdown.  In Madison, after 18 years Capitol Kids shutting down in August, the owner blames the anti-mom & pop attitudes of toy and kids clothing makers/suppliers.  Gold’s Gym shutdown its Waukesha location due to “unsuccessful negotiations regarding its rent structure.”

U.S. RETAIL/BANKING/SERVICE SECTOR COLLAPSE, JUNE 2018: “ANEMIC”

U.S. FOOD CRISIS, JULY 2018: “THE RISE OF BIG BOX STORES”

SEARS KMART DEATH SPIRAL, JULY 2018: “THIS WAS THE SLOWEST ICEBERG HIT.”

U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, JULY 2018: “WE NEED TO GET THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OUT OF THEM.”

U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS layoffs, JULY 2018: “GET YOUR STUFF IT’S TIME TO LEAVE.”

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHENANIGANS, JULY 2018: TAXES & NEW LAWS PROVE IT’S NO LAND OF THE FREE!

DUMBING DOWN THE U.S.A., JULY 2018: SCHOOL CRIMES SKYROCKETING!

OBAMACARE ACA DEATH SPIRAL, JULY 2018: ‘PHANTOM MEDICAL’ CLAIMS

DRUGS, THE AMERICAN WAY, JULY 2018: “A STATE OF NEAR DEATH.”

“a change in business circumstances”: Sears-Kmart death spiral, October 2018

New York Post: Whirlpool doesn’t want Sears selling any of its appliances

9News.com KUSA: Sears is delisted on NASDAQ

Yahoo Finance: lifetime warranties in question

National Real Estate Investor: Sears Will End Up in Liquidation

Delaware Online: Decisions to ax unsuccessful local locations were made well before bankruptcy!

WCPO: How safe are Sears warranties and gift cards?

Chicago Tribune: Whirlpool to Sears: We want our appliances back

Bankruptcy judge to OK Sears’ store closings

bankruptcy to close another 142 stores

CNBC: Sears Holdings plans to file for bankruptcy protection early morning Monday

The Business Journals:  bankruptcy deal to keep Sears Holdings alive through Christmas

Reuters: Eddie Lampert stepped up to contribute toward a bankruptcy financing package 

Sears aims to close up to 150 Sears stores in bankruptcy, 250 Sears stores in limbo!

Market Watch: 100-thousand retirees to be screwed!

Business Insider: Sears’ top spokesman jumps ship

Marea Informative: Major Shareholder dumps 25,700 Shares of Sears Holdings

Wall Street Journal: Lenders Make Push to Liquidate Sears

Lampert Won’t Give Sears Another Lifeline

Sears Holdings prepare for bankruptcy filing that could come as soon as this week

Forbes: Got $592 Million? You Could Buy Sears And JC Penney

CNN: How Sears wasted $6 billion that could have kept it out of bankruptcy

Things are bad at Sears. They’re worse at Kmart

Landlords cheer the end of Sears-Kmart

Sears stopped paying vendors?

Sears hires a bankruptcy expert

Pacific Daily News: man who swung a knife at Guam Kmart employees had his sentence commuted.

MyPalmBeachPost: New Sears vs Gardens Mall lawsuit 

Seeking Alpha: Is October 15 THE Date For Sears Holdings?

Madison County Record: Woman sues Sears-Kmart saying her clothes burst into flames

Motely Fool: Should Seritage Growth Properties Investors Fear a Sears Bankruptcy?

CT Post: man awarded $1.6 million for Sears warehouse injury

NJ.com:  $21K in damage, mold, after faulty Sears appliance install

ALABAMA: Gadsden Sears.

ARKANSAS: Russellville Kmart. 

ARIZONA: Massive Sears shutdowns for Sierra Vista, Yuma, Mesa/East, Phoenix-Desert Sky and Chandler.

CALIFORNIA: Kmarts in Lemoore, Modesto, Riverside, Visalia, Delano, Ontario and Placerville, bringing total California Sears-Kmart job losses to 1-thousand-211 by Xmas!

Massive Sears shutdowns for Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Costa Mesa, Merced, Florin, El Centro, Modesto, Cerritos, Montebello and Bakersfield.

COLORADO: Sears in Lakewood and Centennial.

CONNECTICUT: Sears store-Auto Center-Lands End in Milford (69 jobs gone by Xmas) and Waterford.

Local news media discovered the still active Sears Outlet store in Newington was recently sold-off to a New York property developer, for $3.2-million USD.

FLORIDA: Kmarts in Gainesville and Miami (98 jobs gone by Xmas). Massive Sears shutdowns for Panama City, Walton Beach, Melbourne, Lakeland, Bradenton and Ocala.

GEORGIA: Kmarts in Peachtree and Covington.

IDAHO: Boise Town Square Mall Sears.

“…U-Haul is buying former Kmart stores all over the country”, including the Ammon Kmart and “another storage facility in Idaho Falls.”

ILLINOIS: Joliet Sears.  Kmarts in Quincy, Norridge and Moline. Sears Holdings issued a shutdown WARN for its Sears store in Niles, 75 jobs gone a week before Xmas.  Local news media also reported that Sears Holdings also suddenly laid off 75 people at its HQ in Hoffman Estates.  Sears Holdings suddenly announced the December shutdown of its Sears store in the Golf Mill Shopping Center, blaming it on “a change in business circumstances”, 75 jobs gone by Xmas.  A newly reduced-in-size Oakbrook Center Sears store re-opens. 

Canada fronts $25-million USD loan to partially pay for redevelopment of Revenswood Sears

INDIANA: Sears in Greenwood, Indianapolis and Terre Haute.

Kmarts in Griffith (113 jobs gone by Xmas) and Jasper. Little Caesars, which operate restaurants inside Kmarts, denies a video revealed an Indiana Kmart Little Caesars was serving frozen DiGiorno pizzas!

IOWA: Kmarts in Council Bluffs, Cherokee and Webster.

KANSAS: Kmarts in Salina and KC.

KENTUCKY: Kmarts in Grayson and Russell Springs.

Sears in Louisville-Okolona and Bowling Green.

LOUISIANA: Metairie Kmart.

MAINE: Madawaska Kmart.

MARYLAND: Kmarts in Prince Frederick and Oxon Hill.

Sears in Bowie, Westminster and Columbia.

MASSACHUSETTS: Sears-Land’s End in Natick.

MICHIGAN: Kmarts in Charlevoix and Lake Orion.

Sears-Land’s End in Ann ArborSears store and Auto Center in Lincoln Park (at least 96 jobs gone by Xmas).

MINNESOTA: Sears in Saint Paul and Minnetonka.

MISSOURI: Kmarts in Saint Joseph, KC and Florissant.

NEVADA: Henderson Sears.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Sears-Land’s End in Portsmouth.

NEW JERSEY: Glassboro Kmart.

Sears Auto Center in Deptford (10 jobs gone by Xmas) and Sears store in Middletown (57 jobs gone by Xmas).

NEW MEXICO: Coronado Sears.

NEW YORK:  Taxpayers being forced to pay tens of millions of dollars to turn the vacant East Greenbush Kmart into a training facility for state Family and Children Services.  The Executive Director for Rensselaer County’s Industrial Development Agency called the growing trend to use vacant retail buildings for taxpayer funded government ops “a Renaissance”.

Kmarts in Mahopac (42 jobs gone by the end of January 2019), Batavia (73 jobs gone by the end of January 2019), Niagara Falls (58 jobs gone by the end of January 2019), West Seneca (92 jobs gone by the end of January 2019) and  Schenectady (63 jobs gone by the end of January 2019).

Sears in Nanuet (88 jobs gone by the end of January 2019), Garden City (126 jobs gone by the end of January 2019), Yorktown Heights (55 jobs gone by the end of January 2019) and Lakewood (40 jobs gone by the end of January 2019).

NORTH CAROLINA: Kmarts in Statesville, Raleigh and Asheville.

Sears in Goldsboro, Fayetteville and Pineville.

Taxpayers turned the vacant Independence Mall Sears store into a Disaster Recovery Center: “This is new territory. This storm has been like no other I think that we’ve seen in very recent history and memory. So this community recovery resource center is, it’s very exciting that we were able, if there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s very exciting that we were able to provide this to the community in fairly short order.”

NORTH DAKOTA: A family reports they found mice living inside winter boots they were trying on in a Bismark Kmart.  But that didn’t stop the family from buying the boots, it was the deciding factor in favor of buying the boots!

OHIO: Illegal dumping, homeless encampment found behind former Kmart

Kmarts in East Liverpool and Middleburg Heights/Cuyahoga (63 jobs gone by Xmas).

Niles Sears.

The Streetsboro Sears Appliance Showroom shutting down by the end of the month, a city official blames Eddie Lampert: “I don’t think it’s location; I think it’s more corporate. I was surprised that ours was still open. No one told me officially why they’re closed.”-Deborah Covert

OKLAHOMA: Sears in Tulsa and Norman.

According to local news reports, the vacant Arrowhead Mall Sears store, in Broken Arrow, is being replaced with a U.S. Post Office and Distribution Center.  The mall itself went bankrupt in 2016 (despite a 2014 remodel) and was sold by evil Wells Fargo to ‘an investor’ this year, it is currently managed by Texas based Property Managers.

OREGON: Beaverton Kmart. 

Salem-Lancaster Sears.  Portland Sears store-Auto Center-Land’s End (72 jobs gone by Xmas).

PENNSYLVANIA: Sears in Pittsburgh, Dubois, and Cornwells Heights.

Sears-Land’s End in Langhorne.

Massive Kmart shutdowns for Pleasant Hills, Altoona, Allentown, Phoenixville, Hummelstown, New Kensington, Carlisle, Thorndale and Matamoras.

Kmart manager chokes on final store ‘store is closing’ announcement.

The owners of Hershey Square Shopping Center, in Derry Township, revealed that the currently active Big Kmart store will be vacated sometime after Xmas, by listing the space as available to lease in 2019.  The Shenango Valley Mall Sears Auto Center, in Hermitage, suddenly shutdown with little or no warning to employees, inventory is already being shipped to other locations.  The Shenango Valley Mall Sears store shutdown more than a year ago.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Kmart in Mauldin, and what local news media suspected the still active Rock Hill Kmart sold at the end of September for $6-million USD, the buyer operates large scale storage units and plans to redevelop the Kmart property and the Kmart will shutdown.

TENNESSEE: Knoxville Kmart.

Sears Land’s End in West Town and Cordova.

Sears in Clarksville and Chattanooga.

TEXAS: Massive Sears shutdowns for Victoria, Austin/Barton Creek, Dallas, Irving, Ingram, Austin, Lubbock, Harlingen and Frisco.

After six decades the Sears store and Auto Center in Baytown shutting down in time for Xmas.

VIRGINIA:  Hampton Sears.

Kmarts in Springfield, Williamsburg and  Waynesboro.

The still active Sears store at the Landmark Mall , in Alexandria, could shutdown.  Local news media reporting that the mall owner and Sears Holdings’ REIT spin-off Seritage Growth Properties are in negotiations to re-develop the property, and the City of Alexandria “has approved this effort as a priority in the FY 2019 Long-Range Planning Work Program.”  The Annandale Big Kmart shutting down a week before Thanksgiving.

WASHINGTON: Puyallup Sears.

Bellingham Kmart.

WEST VIRGINIA: Charleston Kmart. 

Westover/Morgantown Sears.

WISCONSIN: Taxpayers of Portage screwed over for another 27 years as a tenth tax increment financing district, which includes a vacant Kmart, goes into effect!

WYOMING: Both the Casper Kmart and Casper Sears. 

SEARS – KMART DEATH SPIRAL, SEPTEMBER 2018: IS THIS IT?

“Get your stuff it’s time to leave.”: U.S. industrial/mining/logistics layoffs, July 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss/shutdown announcements made in July 2018.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The Washington Post: Millions of educated, experienced workers have been tossed aside

ALABAMA: Hyundai plant could be first shut down under tariff plan

ALASKA: Oil giant reports 2018 profit, compared to big 2017 loss

ConocoPhillips Swaps Assets With BP, Expands Alaska Base

CALIFORNIA: No more Barbie or Hot Wheels? El Segundo based Mattel announced plans to eliminate at least 2-thousand-2-hundred toy jobs around the world, due to massive crashing sales possibly due to the death of retailer Toys R Us! Already Mattel laid off 140 people at its El Segundo HQ! Furniture company Minson Corporation issued a shutdown WARN for its Montebello ops, 113 jobs gone by September!  Freight Handlers Incorporated (FHI) issued a shutdown WARN for its Riverside ops, 115 jobs gone by September! Recycler Aqua Metals issued a shutdown WARN for its Alameda location, 12 jobs gone in September.  Golden State Overnight Delivery Service issued layoff WARNs for its Gardena and Santa Ana ops, 138 jobs gone mid-September!  ITW Bay Area Label issued a shutdown WARN for its San Jose ops, 54 jobs gone by October.  MV Transportation eliminating 135 jobs in Visalia, by the end of September!

COLORADO: Drillers Fuel Record Oil Output in Rush to Finish Wells

FLORIDA: C&S Wholesale Services eliminating 319 jobs in Orlando by October!

IDAHO:  Bankrupt and suddenly dead Indiana based Koontz-Wagner Custom Controls suddenly laid off 51 people at its now dead Caldwell ops.

ILLINOIS: Iconic cosmetics maker/seller Avon (now known as New Avon) just sold-off its last U.S. factory, in Morton Grove-Chicago, to a French company, 3-hundred to 4-hundred jobs affected!  The French company will make products for British empire United Kingdom owned Walgreens-Boots Alliance.  One of the last U.S. plastic model kit and RC toy manufacturers/distributors, Hobbico, officially chapter 7 bankrupt dead, resulting in iconic Revell kits being 100% German owned.  In Chicago, MW Industries issued a shutdown WARN, 49 jobs gone by Xmas.  In Aurora, Jacobson Warehouse issued a shutdown WARN, 134 jobs gone due to consolidation operations!  Stack-On Products issued shutdown WARNs for its operations in Wauconda and McHenry, 153 jobs gone in October!

INDIANA:  In Bristol, Diversified Machine warning 5-hundred employees of layoffs due to losing a contract with Ford!   Chapter 7 bankrupt and suddenly dead Koontz-Wagner Custom Controls suddenly laid off 104 people (according to official WARN) at its now dead South Bend factory and HQ, one employee told local news media there was no warning: “No one knew about it to 9 o’ clock this morning when we had a meeting and they told us ‘We are shutting the doors. Get your stuff it’s time to leave.'”-Ron Randolph, employee for 16 years

Japan based Wire-Maker TOKUSEN Says it Will Idle Clark County Operation

IOWA: Construction industry tool maker Black Cat Wear Parts laid off ten people, blaming it on the tariff war with British empire Canada.  Winnebago Industries eliminating 31 jobs by the end of August.

KENTUCKY: Greeting card maker American Greetings shutting down its factory in Bardstown, more than 250 jobs lost between September 2018 and February 2019!

MASSACHUSETTS: Partly taxpayer funded uniform maker Pepperell Mills now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and liquidating.  Technetics Group shutting down ops in Oxford due to “the current industrial gas turbine market”, 97 jobs lost.

MINNESOTA: United Sports Brands eliminating 20 jobs in Minnetonka, by November.

MISSOURI: Lawnmower engine maker Briggs and Stratton cutting production and warning of mass layoffs at its factory in Popular Bluff, in “coming weeks”, due to lack of sales.  Also in Popular Bluff, Mid Continent Nail Corporation cut production by half and laid off 60 people, blaming lack of sales on new tariff wars.

NEW YORK:  Fischer Price laid off 50 people at its HQ, as part of parent company Mattel’s plan to eliminate thousand of jobs globally!  Advanced Motors and Drives issued a layoff WARN for its East Syracuse location, 51 jobs gone between August 2018 and March 2019.  Verrino Construction Services now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to lack of cash caused by lack of sales. Hebeler Process Solutions issued layoff WARNs, at least 60 jobs gone in September due to a sudden loss of sales from a major customer.

NORTH CAROLINA: American Tire Distributors suddenly laid off 1-hundred people because “…the industry is going through its largest change in decades”.  Home furnishings maker Heritage Home Group (Broyhill, Lane, Thomasville, and Drexel Heritage) now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  Mattress maker Serta Simmons shutting down its factory in Whitsett, 112 jobs gone by September!

OHIO: Chinese owned (Hong Kong) vacuum cleaner maker TTI Floor Care (Oreck) issued a shutdown WARN for its Glenwillow ops, at least 75 jobs gone starting in September due “to changing business circumstances” forcing the company to consolidate operations.  Germany based Siemens issued a shutdown WARN for its Aero-Derivative Gas Turbine ops, 134 jobs gone “due to conditions within the global energy market”.

OKLAHOMA: Aircraft parts maker NORDAM Group now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to problems with Pratt & Whitney Canada, local news media say NORDAM is the second biggest employer in the state.

U.S. oil production hits 11 million barrels a day

PENNSYLVANIA: ArcelorMittal Plate issued a layoff WARN, 125 people in Conshohocken jobless by September!  Jacobson Warehouse issued a shutdown WARN for its Lancaster ops, 62 jobs gone in September.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Tariffs Imperil BMW in South Carolina

SOUTH DAKOTA: Hultgren Construction now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to lawsuits over a deadly building collapse.

TENNESSEE: TEC Industrial Maintenance & Construction laid off 238 people due to a lost contract!

TEXAS: Bankrupt and suddenly dead Indiana based Koontz-Wagner Custom Controls suddenly laid off 52 people at its now dead Houston ops.

WASHINGTON: Germany based logistics company Arvato issued a shutdown WARN for its Yakima ops, 168 jobs gone by the end of September!

WEST VIRGINIA: MRC Global shutting down its Nitro distribution center, 38 jobs lost to consolidation ops.

Diversified Gas & Oil buys EQT assets

Pinnacle Mine to lay off roughly 90 miners

WISCONSIN: Mayline-Safeco laying off 127 furniture makers in September, as part of plans to shutdown operations at several locations by November! Cooper Power Systems eliminating 52 mechanic jobs by September.  In Waukesha, General Electric (GE) laying off 236 people by shutting down its Distributed Power Facility!

U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS SHUTDOWNS, JUNE 2018: “GLOBAL RACE TO THE BOTTOM.”

Is this it?: Sears – Kmart death spiral, September 2018

KTLA: Sears Stock Falls Below $1 For The First Time in Company’s History

Bloomberg: Lampert’s plan to ‘save’ Sears-Kmart will make him $1-billion!

Barron’s: Crashing retailers, like Sears, bringing down consumer products maker Newell Brands

Big Sears Shareholder Slashes Stake

Washington Post: Last minute plan to save Sears, sell everything!

PR Newswire: Lampert proposes increased sales of properties to avoid imminent bankruptcy!

Here’s more proof the demise of Sears/Kmart is not about online shopping: How Sears inspired Warby Parker’s move from online to offline retail

Forbes: 382 stores shutdown since 2nd Quarter 2017!

CNN: Lampert blames retirees for losses!

MarketWatch: More stores to close!

TheStreet: Sears Stock Just Crashed

California: Sears Holdings issued a shutdown WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining Notice) for its Pinole Kmart, 67 jobs gone by December.  Sears Holdings created REIT Seritage Growth Properties Announces Construction Underway to Transform the Former Sears Site in Santa Monica into The Mark 302TM

Florida: Sears Holdings’ REIT spin-off Seritage Growth Properties announced it will redevelop the still active Sears store at the at the Westland Mall, in Hialeah, turning the building into an open-air-plaza (which probably means the store will shutdown).   The Sears store and Auto Center in Ocala‘s Paddock Mall listed for sale a week after those locations listed below, local news media said Sears Holdings might keep the store open through a ‘lease-back’.  It’s been discovered that Sears Holdings is attempting to sell-off several properties in Florida, including its still active Sears store in the Volusia Mall (Daytona Beach), still active Sears store and Auto Center in Tampa, still active Sears store in Port Richey, and still active Kmart distribution center in Ocala (the largest building in Marion County)!  86 jobs lost in Doral as the Sears store and Auto Center shuts down in time for Thanksgiving.

Sears sues Gardens Mall owner and city of Palm Beach Gardens, saying the mall owner and the city are blocking efforts to sublease store space to another retailer.

Idaho: The taxpayer funded project to turn the vacant Pine Ridge Mall Sears (in Chubbuck) into a charter school got a little more complicated and expensive.  Newly revealed plans show the west side mall parking lot being turned into a playground, add to that the Sears’ south side parking will be used for the school, this means if mall business ever returns to its late 1990s levels then there’s going to be a major problem with parking!

Illinois: “Taxpayers in Hoffman Estates are seeing a significant portion of their tax dollars subsidize Sears Centre Arena…” (note the evil British empire way of spelling center), $87.6-million USD down the drain since 2009!

Michigan: Sears still closing in Jackson, but auto center is spared

Nevada: Federal and state taxpayers being forced to spend $26-million USD helping a developer turn the vacant Reno Kmart into affordable housing.  Apparently Reno is experiencing a population explosion caused by Californians trying to escape the outrageously high housing prices in the liberal-left-wing not-so Golden State.

New York: Sears Holdings issued a shutdown WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining Notice) for its Poughkeepsie Kmart, 71 jobs eliminated just days before Xmas. Sears Holdings also issued a WARN for its Eastview Mall Sears store and Auto Center, in Victor, 51 jobs gone by Thanksgiving.  Taxpayers about to foot the bill for turning a former Irondequoit Sears store into housing for old people, local news reports said the developer “…is working to get state funding and tax credits for the project.”  The still active Sears store in the Eastern Hills Mall (Clarence/Williamsville) suddenly sold-off to property developers for $6.8-million USD.  And it’s now official, the manager of Eastern Hills Mall said the Sears store will shutdown after Xmas (despite claims the store is hiring), however, Sears Holdings issued a WARN saying 40 jobs will be eliminated the week before Xmas.

Ohio: The Sears store in the Belden Village Mall, in Jackson, is being reduced in size (possible even shutdown) and the space will be split-up to allow at least five new retail/entertainment venues to move in.   The Sears store in the Mall at Fairfield Commons, in Beavercreek,  shutting down at an undisclosed time, local news reports say the space will be filled by two smaller operations.

South Dakota: In Rapid City the Northgate Shopping Center was sold in July, it’s home to a still active Big Kmart.  The new owners of the shopping center are about to spend $10-million USD redeveloping it, affecting all the current tenants.  The Big Kmart is currently operating on a four years lease, but active leases hasn’t stopped Sears Holdings from shutting stores down, and even the shopping center’s new owners said “If they decide to move on, then we’ll work with them on it.” 

Texas: More proof it’s not about lack of retail sales as the recently vacated Portland Kmart property can’t be sold because Sears Holdings is still paying rent on a lease that has three years to go. Portland city officials explained that even with Sears Holdings paying rent to the property owner for three more years, the city itself is losing about $2-thousand USD per year in sales taxes!   The Sears Hometown Store located in the Heartland Mall, in Brown County, shutdown due to what the owners called “difficult circumstances”.   The Sears store and Auto Center at the Broadway Square Mall, in Tyler, shutting down right before Xmas.  Despite the city of Tyler approving plans to tear down the Sears store, back in May, the shutdown announcement is still a surprise because Sears Holdings told local news media the lease was good for several years and they weren’t going anywhere.  Taxpayers in the city of Longview on the hook for $1.4-million to pay for the re-development of the vacant Kmart; it’s being turned into a city bus terminal.

 West Virginia: The Sears store in Grand Central Mall, in Vienna, shutting down by Xmas, local news media reported that the town mayor was unaware of the shutdown.  It’s been revealed that the taxpayer ‘marketed’ vacant Bluefield Kmart is still making money for the property owner as Sears Holdings is still paying rent on the space!  Local news media thinks the Kmart lease ends this November, Sears Holdings shutdown the Kmart in 2016 and has been paying rent since then.  City officials in charge of trying to rent out the space say so far there’s been no interested parties. 

U.S. Sears-Kmart death spiral, August 2018: “A BIG RISK.”

“anemic”: U.S. retail/banking/service sector collapse, June 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. retail/banking/service sector job loss WARNings and store shutdowns made or announced in June 2018:

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Switzerland based Too Big to Jail UBS suddenly laid off hundreds of bank asset management employees around the world, including in the United States (mainly in NYC)!

ALABAMA: In Tuscaloosa, after at least 91 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Union Furniture shutdown, the family owners blame ‘big box’ and online competition: “It’s just the result of a bad retail environment. The last 10 years haven’t been good, and it’s been a really, really tough five years.”-Aaron Christian Junior

CALIFORNIA: Finance of America killing 43 U.S. jobs in Roseville, shipping many jobs to an office in Philippines, by August. Banc of California suddenly shutdown three offices, 13 jobs gone without warning.  Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo issued shutdown WARNs for a San Francisco office, and its Irvine office, 163 jobs gone between August and the end of September!  USBank also issued a shutdown WARN for its Irvine office, 60 jobs gone by August.  Community Bank eliminating 37 jobs in Pasadena, by August. Conifer Revenue Cycle Solutions issued a shutdown WARN for its Anaheim location, 68 jobs gone by August.   JCPenney issued a shutdown WARN for its Buena Park location, 98 jobs gone by August. What automotive industry recovery?  Robertson Honda issued a shutdown WARN for its North Hollywood location, 119 jobs gone in July!

COLORADO: real estate scammer sentenced to 20 years in jail

Appeals court supports $1-million USD judgment against crooked foreclosure law firm

In Boulder, Fleet Feet Sports Boulder suddenly shutdown, the owner said in an email that he was not allowed to say why.

CONNECTICUT: Ann Taylor shutting down its store in Glastonbury by August, a local TV station said skyrocketing rent and internet competition are to blame.

GEORGIA: ‘Premier Sports Vacation Destination’ Lake Point Sporting Community now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, despite having ‘state-of-the-art’ entertainment venues and claiming that it has 1-million visitors every year.

ILLINOIS: Taxpayer investment (by City of Peoria) GEM Hospitality-Pere Marquette Hotel now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and for sale, city leaders hope to make money on the bankruptcy auction (they obviously haven’t been paying attention to other bankruptcy auctions).  Quality Inn shutting down its Midway Airport motel, 46 jobs gone by September. Walmart issued a shutdown WARN for its store in Clinton, 80 jobs gone by the end of August.  Vantiv issued a shutdown WARN for ops in Tinley Park, 64 jobs gone by Halloween.  Itasca based Too Big to Jail First Midwest Bank shutting down at least 19 locations across Illinois and Indiana.  Honor Finance issued a shutdown WARN for its Evanston location, 70 jobs gone in August.  Libertyville True Hardware shutdown after 51 years, the owners blamed ‘big box’ competition. What automotive industry recovery? Clarendon Hills Auto Repair shutdown after 55 successful years, interestingly the owner says his father and uncle wisely ignored the advice of ‘expert’ analysts in choosing the shop’s location (which shows you how much ‘experts’ know).  The owner isn’t closing due to lack of work, it’s exactly the opposite: “…I don’t want to work 12 hours a day anymore.”-Scott Bonser

INDIANA: In Anderson, after 63 years Brauchla TV and Appliance shutdown, the owners blamed it on the price of steel and aluminum.  In Indianapolis, Game Paradise shutdown, the upset owners said they had just moved into a cheaper location but then sales unexpectedly crashed.

IOWA: French Way Cleaners shutdown all remaining eight stores, after more than a hundred years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) of operations.  In Altoona, Sports Page shutting down in August, the owners blaming competition from ‘big box’ and online. In Waterloo, after 45 years Ridgeway True Value Hardware shutdown.  Also in Waterloo (and also after 45 years), god’s own British empire based Salvation Army shutdown its Family Thrift Store.  In Fort Dodge, Zales shutdown its jewelry store in Crossroads Mall.  In Davenport, Salon Luce suddenly shutdown, 14 jobs gone without warning.

KENTUCKY: In Louisville, after 25 years of plays Alley Theater shutting down in August, due to two years of low ticket sales which the operators describe as “…anemic. That is the best word for the last two years.”  

MAINE:  In Houlton, after 110 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions, and the 1992 shutdown of Loring Air Force Base) Dunn Furniture finally shutdown.

MARYLAND: What housing market recovery? Too Big to Jail California based Wells Fargo eliminating 63 mortgage jobs in Frederick, by mid-August.

MASSACHUSETTS: In Arlington, after 64 years Balich 5&10 shutdown, the owner blames his retirement on internet competition, and the city’s gentrification of the area around his store, for causing a crash in sales. In North Andover, after 24 years Kids Karousel toys and clothing store shutdown, the owners saying they had to move-up their retirement plans because “…we definitely weren’t having enough sales to support the business anymore. We were seeing a huge decline.”  After seven decades Brown’s of Beverly Bicycles shutdown.

MICHIGAN: In Ann Arbor, The M-Den suddenly shutdown the 103 years old (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Moe Sport Shops without warning, blaming it on lack of sales (never mind that The M-Den is a competitor that bought-out Moe Sport Shops last year).  In Waterford, Airway Lanes shutdown, the property was purchased by the next-door business.

MISSOURI: In Warrensburg, Dean Williamson Furniture-Hursh Furniture shutdown after nearly seven decades.

MONTANA: Ronan Sports & Western shutdown after 61 years, the owners blaming low sales for forcing them to “…try retirement. And see how that works out.” In Great Falls, after 31 years Amazing Toys up for sale so the owner can hopefully retire.

NEW JERSEY: Dying Toys R Us eliminating 184 jobs at its Wayne HQ, by mid-August!  Disney Store shutdown its location in Monmouth Mall, blaming low sales on competition.  Too Big to Jail JP Morgan Chase eliminating 58 jobs in Jersey City.

NEW YORK: In Williamsville, Leelee’s Clothing shutting down after 20 years. NYC based (but owned by British empire Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Company) Lord & Taylor clothier shutting down ten stores to “allow new leadership to re-think the model”.   Online clothing seller Tahari issued a shutdown WARN for its NYC office, 137 jobs gone by the end of August!  Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo issued a shutdown WARN for its Pittsford Retail Fulfillment Unit, 48 jobs affected by the end of August. Toys R Us-Babies R Us suddenly shutdown multiple locations, at least 328 jobs gone with only days notice!

NORTH CAROLINA: In Greensboro, after three years PartyChick and Paper shutdown, the owners, who had three successful stores in Texas, saying “…we thought it would do well here, but the opposite has happened.  Greensboro is much more online shopping-centric than Dallas.”

NORTH DAKOTA: In Fargo, after 21 years Zimmerman’s Furniture shutdown because the building was sold.

OHIO: Toys R Us-Babies R Us suddenly shutdown stores across the state, 1-thousand-178 jobs gone with only a few days warning! In West Chester, after 86 years HRS Janitorial Service & Supplies shutting down when the inventory is gone, the property has already been sold, it’s blamed on crashing sales.  Yet more layoffs in the works at Fifth Third Bank, an undisclosed number of people in Cincinnati soon to be unemployed, even though the Too Big to Jail bank claims to have 561 open positions!  Cleveland/Crocker Park based American Greetings announced an undisclosed number of layoffs and early retirements “in an effort to ensure the ongoing success of the company.”  Family Video shutting down stores in Dayton and New Carlisle, when the inventory is gone. After 27 years Big Fun toy store, in Cleveland Heights, shutdown, the owner blamed internet competition.  In Mansfield, Diamond Street Pawn Shop shutting down so the gun toting owners can retire to Florida.  After almost 50 years the Village Bookshop, in Linworth, shutting down so the owners can retire. The f.y.e. music shop in River Valley Mall shutdown.   In Austintown, god’s own British empire based Salvation Army shutting down its Family Thrift Store by the end of August.

OREGON: Kah-Nee-Ta Resort issued a shutdown WARN, 146 jobs gone by September!

PENNSYLVANIA: Under Armour (note the evil British empire way of spelling armor) suddenly shutdown its two years old clothing store in Center City, without warning, saying it’s part of the plan to “optimize global operations”.  After 25 “really good years” Venture Investments Group suddenly shutdown its Burton’s Total Pet store in Greensburg (the third Burton’s Total Pet store to shutdown since January), blaming ‘big box’ and internet competition for crashing sales. Venture Investments Group-Burton’s Total Pet is also showing signs of going bankrupt.  Ranck Plumbing Heating & AC suddenly shutdown operations in Lancaster and Bowmansville.

SOUTH CAROLINA: After 57 years, Bonnie Brae Golf Club shutdown, and possibly for sale, due to lack of participation ever since the 2008 Great Recession.  In North Charleston, InterContinental Hotels Group shutting down its 21 years old reservations call center, 630 jobs being killed by third party contractors!  Pier 1 shutting down one of its stores due to competition with itself (too many Pier 1 stores within 20 miles of each other)!   What housing market recovery?  Fort Mill based Movement Mortgage eliminating 1-hundred jobs across the U.S., admitting “…we are growing slower than we expected.”    And Too Big to Jail California based Wells Fargo eliminating 1-hundred mortgage jobs in Fort Mills, by mid-August, in order “to better align with current volumes.”

TEXAS: Fort Worth based American Airlines warning of massive layoffs of managers due to its merger with US Airways (which took place five years ago)!

WEST VIRGINIA: In Wheeling, Chris Miller Furniture shutdown so the widow of the store’s namesake can retire.  In Huntington, after 60 years Colonial Lanes shutdown and for sale.

WISCONSIN: Too Big to Jail California based Wells Fargo eliminating 46 jobs in Menomonee Falls, by October.

WYOMING: In Evanston, after 40 years Schofield Furniture and Appliance shutdown and for sale, due to family health problems.

Your leaders are lying to you, don’t forget to check out the thousands of layoffs in all these other U.S. industries.

OBAMA LEGACY: U.S. APPAREL INDUSTRY DEATH-SPIRAL

U.S. RETAIL/BANKING/SERVICE SECTOR COLLAPSE, May 2018: “WE’RE TOO BUSY, WE CAN’T KEEP UP”

SEARS KMART DEATH SPIRAL, June 2018:“THEIR YEAR OF DEMISE.”

U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS LAYOFFS, June 2018:“GLOBAL RACE TO THE BOTTOM.”

Dumbing Down the U.S.A., June 2018:“LOCKDOWN, LOCKDOWN”

U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, June 2018:“REDEPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES”

U.S. government shenanigans, June 2018:“THIS ISN’T FOSTER CARE, THIS IS STATE-SPONSORED KIDNAPPING!”

U.S. food crisis, June 2018:“A THOUSAND PAPER CUTS”

ObamaCare ACA death spiral, June 2018:“…WE HAD THE WORST YEAR…EVER…”

DRUGS, THE AMERICAN WAY, June 2018:‘THE DREAM MARKET’

“global race to the bottom.”: U.S. industrial/mining/logistics shutdowns, June 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss/shutdown announcements made in June 2018.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

 CALIFORNIA: Palo Alto based Tesla announced the elimination of 3-thousand-6-hundred jobs (already issued layoff WARNs saying 506 Californians will become jobless in August!) in an effort to increase the company’s profit margin (due to the fact the 15 years old company has yet to actually make a profit, and don’t forget the 1-thousand-2-hundred California jobs Tesla killed last year)!   Palo Alto based Hewlett Packard (HP) warning of the elimination of 5-thousand jobs by the end of 2019, as part of its never ending restructuring plan (which began two years ago)!  ECS Refining issued a shutdown WARN for its Stockton location, 159 jobs gone in August!  Driessen Aircraft Interiors Systems suddenly laid off 10 people in Huntington.   Disabled veteran logistics services company TsiCorp shutting down two offices, eliminating eight jobs by the end of July. Continental Maritime issued a mass layoff WARN for its San Diego ops, 235 jobs gone by August! Arconic Fastening Systems issued a shutdown WARN for its Newbury Park ops, 30 jobs gone by the end of July.   What automotive industry recovery? Motorcar Parts of America eliminating 21 jobs in Torrance, by the end of July.

COLORADO: DCT Industrial real estate eliminating 59 jobs due to being taken over by California based Prologis.

CONNECTICUT: Netherlands based Philips shutting down its medical device factory in Wallingford by 2020, as many as 3-hundred jobs affected due to consolidation ops to Mexico and Costa Rica!   Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro blamed globalization saying “Families in Wallingford and across Connecticut deserve better than losing their jobs in a global race to the bottom. We cannot let them become just another statistic.”

FLORIDA: Illinois based Brunswick announced the shutdown of its elitist Sea Ray Sport Yacht & Yacht Operations on Merritt Island, 771 jobs gone (according to official WARN) as part of Brunswick’s plan to create a new boat making company by merging existing boat factories (consolidation ops)!  C&S Wholesale Services issued a WARN, 328 jobs in Orlando gone by September!  First Transit eliminating 96 jobs at Miami International Airport.

IDAHO: In Lewiston, ammo maker Howell Munitions-Freedom Munitions-X-Treme Bullets (in Nevada)-Clearwater Bullet-Ammo Load Worldwide-Howell Machine now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, apparently due to mismanagement of debt financing which left the company with at least $5.4-million in debts.

ILLINOIS: Vernon Hills based paint maker Rust-Oleum revealed plans to shutdown factories in Oklahoma and New Jersey, as well as eliminate jobs at its Vernon Hills HQ, hundreds of jobs affected due to “streamlining….to support future growth” (consolidation ops)!  Soap maker VVF Illinois Services issued a layoff WARN, 182 people in Montgomery out-o-work by mid-September, no official reason given! However, a local radio station reported back in January that the soap factory was shutting down and that 250 jobs were lost due to consolidation ops caused by crashing soap sales!

INDIANA: What automotive industry recovery?  British empire Canada based auto parts maker NFI Group-New Flyer shutting down its factory in Elkhart, 80 jobs gone by April 2019.   Diversified Machine Bristol laying off 95 people by the end of the year, due to the vague reason of “resourcing of product”.

MICHIGAN: In Ann Arbor, after 125 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) struggling book publisher Edwards Brothers Malloy gave up the ghost, saying it never recovered from the recent Great Recession, 282 jobs gone, but local news media reported that at one time the book maker employed 4-hundred people!

MINNESOTA: What construction industry recovery?   Bergstrom Wood Products eliminating 21 jobs in International Falls.

NEBRASKA: Wisconsin based lawn and snow equipment maker Ariens shutting down its factory in Auburn, 193 jobs lost by Halloween due to consolidation ops!

NEW YORK:  Energy company Exelon issued a layoff WARN for its Valhalla operations, 52 jobs affected by consolidation ops.

OHIO: Germany based DHL (a division of Deutsche Post) eliminating 260 jobs at its Groveport distribution center by mid July, due to the sudden loss of a major contract!  Dover-OPW Fueling eliminating 22 jobs in West Chester, in July.  Anchor Glass Container eliminating 70 jobs by Halloween.  What automotive industry recovery? Japan based JTEKT-Koyo Bearings eliminating 47 jobs in August.

PENNSYLVANIA: Troubled energy company (accused of falsifying financial documents to hide millions of dollars in losses) Worley & Obetz eliminating 150 jobs (on top of the 45 people laid off in May), and the CEO has been declared a “missing person”!  AmeriGreen Energy suddenly shutdown in Lancaster, 25 jobs gone. 

VIRGINIA: What construction industry recovery? Cabinet maker Corsi Group shutting down its three years old Sitline Cabinetry factory in Keysville, an undisclosed number of jobs lost to consolidation of operations.

WISCONSIN:  Germany based DHL (a division of Deutsche Post) shutting down its Mequon distribution center, 59 jobs lost in August.  GE Energy issued a shutdown WARN, 236 jobs in Waukesha gone by August!  Also in Waukesha, Cooper Power Systems issued a layoff WARN, 52 jobs gone by September. Lawn and snow equipment maker Ariens shutting down its factory in Janesville, 141 jobs lost due to consolidation ops!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Mining/Industrial/Logistics layoffs, May 2018:“PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO DECOMPRESS.”

“a big risk.”: Sears – Kmart death spiral, August 2018

Forbes: Inside Sears Hometown Stores’ War With Its Local Entrepreneurs

WRAL: Sears struggling with customer service complaints

Fox Business: Sears’ pension liabilities may be a thorn in Kenmore sale

CNNMoney: Eddie Lampert offers to buy Kenmore for $400-million

TCPAland: Sears Misses out on Millions in TCPA Settlement Funds

Wall Street Journal: Sears Franchise Owners Get Caught in Retailer’s Woes

24/7 Wall St: How Sears Is Branching Out in E-Commerce

New York Business Journal: In the ‘Blink’ of an eye, your local Sears is now a gym

ARIZONA:  Flagstaff Mall Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.

CALIFORNIA: 64 employees of the Clovis Kmart arrived at work only to find out they’re being shutdown, the only thing local news media was told was that the Kmart would shutdown in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.  It’s been revealed that the still active Manchester Center Sears store, in Fresno, has leased out half its active space to an unnamed retailer, who will occupy the north half of the building by Summer 2019.  The real estate agency handling the deal also revealed that active Sears store downsizing efforts are taking place with the Sequoia Mall, in Visalia, and at the Merced Mall.  All stores are owned by Sears Holdings’ REIT spin-off (and Warren Buffett funded) Seritage Growth Properties.  Spring Valley Kmart, Antioch Kmart and Los Angeles Kmart (on West 3rd) all  shutting down by Thanksgiving, 152 jobs killed according to WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining Notice)! Capitola Mall Sears store in Santa Cruz shutting down by Thanksgiving.

COLORADO: Grand Junction Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.

CONNECTICUT: Milford Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.

DELAWARE: Newark Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.

FLORIDA: University Square Mall Sears, the Doral-Miami Sears store and Auto Center (86 jobs gone by Thanksgiving) and the Naples Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.   Neptune Beach leaders shoot down controversial redevelopment plans for vacant Kmart

GEORGIA: Sears stores and Auto Centers in Savannah (Oglethorpe Mall), Atlanta (Cumberland Mall) and Brunswick shutting down by Thanksgiving.

IDAHO: The Sears Hometown Store in Moscow is for sale, a very incomplete local news report gave no details.

ILLINOIS: Steger Kmart and Bloomington Sears and Auto Center (East Empire Street) shutting down by Thanksgiving.  The 16 years vacant Lake Zurich Kmart is being torn down by the property owner, under threat of a taxpayer funded court order.  The Kmart property owner apparently promised to redevelop the property in 2017, claiming it would turn it into a massive apartment/retail shops complex. The city is demanding construction on the massive complex must start by March 2019.

Chicago Tribune: Stanley, Sears to have competing Craftsman tool brands

INDIANA: On Coldwater Road the Fort Wayne Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.   After five years the Anderson Sears Hometown Store shutting down, the owner saying “I have just reached a point being here for five years and asking for another five years, that’s a big risk.” 

KENTUCKY: Florence Sears shutting down by Thanksgiving.

LOUISIANA: Hammond Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.  The still active Clearview Shopping Center Sears store and Auto Center, in New Orleans, was just purchased by the family owners of the mall. The Sears store will supposedly continue operating, but will be reduced in size as most of the 14 acre Sears space will be carved up into smaller retail shops.

MARYLAND: The Westfield Montgomery Sears store, in Bethesda, shutting down in March 2019.  The store was bought by the mall owner last year, for $105-million USD, their plan is to tear it down and replace it with a multitude of smaller brick-n-mortar shops.

MASSACHUSETTS: Holyoke and Taunton Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.

MICHIGAN: Jackson Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.

MISSISSIPPI: Columbus Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.

MISSOURI: Cape Girardeau Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.

NORTH CAROLINA: Raleigh-Crabtree Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Salem and Manchester Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.

NEW JERSEY: Mays Landing Sears store and Auto Center shutting down, 63 jobs gone by Thanksgiving.

NEW YORK:  Riverhead Kmart, as well as Queensbury-Glens Falls, New Hyde Park and Victor Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.

OHIO: Dayton and Cincinnati-Northgate Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.  The 23 years old Chillicothe Kmart/Little Caesar’s Pizza shutting down by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, local news media said they were alerted to the shutdown when customers were being told that layaways were halted.  It was also discovered that the Kmart property had been sold at the end of July to Rural King Realty for $4.7-million USD.

OREGON: Happy Valley-Portland Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.

PENNSYLVANIA: Store closing signs confirmed that the McMurray Kmart is shutting down in October, employees were told last month, but also were told not to tell anybody.  After more than 20 years, the Pine Township Sears Hometown Store shutdown at the end of July, no reason was given.

TENNESSEE: The taxpayers of Clarksville being forced to give a property developer a tax abatement incentive (amount undisclosed at this time) to redevelop property that has a vacant Kmart on it.  The developer is promising that 427 new jobs will be created.

TEXAS: Houston-Memorial and College Station-Bryan Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.

UTAH: West Jordan Sears shutting down by Thanksgiving.

VIRGINIA: Fairfax Sears shutting down by Thanksgiving.

WASHINGTON: Vancouver Mall Sears store and Auto Center shutting down by Thanksgiving.  The Sears Hometown Store in Toppenish suddenly shutdown, the owners said they couldn’t renew the lease and will focus on their stores in Sunnyside, and in Hood River (Oregon).

WEST VIRGINIA: Scott Depot Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.  Kmart used flooding as excuse to layoff employees at Crossings Mall in Elkview, according to lawsuit.

WISCONSIN: Eau Claire and La Crosse (Valley View Mall) Sears stores and Auto Centers shutting down by Thanksgiving.  The five years old Appleton (Grand Chute) Sears Outlet store shutdown on the 19th, the owner didn’t say why, only that he was consolidating the remaining inventory to his new store in Germantown.

WYOMING: Gillette Kmart shutting down by Thanksgiving.

Sears-Kmart death spiral, July 2018: “THIS WAS THE SLOWEST ICEBERG HIT.”

“we’re too busy, we can’t keep up”: U.S. retail/banking/service sector collapse, May 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. retail/banking/service sector job loss WARNings and store shutdowns made or announced in May 2018:

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

It’s been revealed that Deutschland (Germany) based Deutsche Bank killed 4-hundred U.S. jobs in April, and now wants to kill another 10-thousand jobs world wide!

ALABAMA: In Homewood after 32 years of selling clothing, White Flowers shutdown due to crashing sales over the past two years.

ARKANSAS: In Bella Vista the only movie theater, Sugar Creek 10 Cinema, suddenly shutdown.  Local news media say exalted city leaders were shocked because they truly believed their local economy was booming.

 CALIFORNIA: UnAmerican Bank of America eliminating 575 jobs in Pasadena in 2019, due to the Too Big to Jail bank not wanting to renew the lease on the property! Home Point Financial Corporation issued a shutdown WARN for its Forest Lake location, 83 jobs gone in July.  Bank of the West eliminating 35 jobs in San Ramon, by the end of June.  Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo issued a shutdown WARN for its Rancho Cucamonga car loan office, 58 jobs gone as part of plans to move vehicle loan operations out of The (not so) Golden State.  In Burbank, after 51 years Book Castle-Movie World shutdown so fast the owner was literally giving away his inventory.  The Toys R Us store in Los Angeles shutdown without warning, 72 jobs gone.  State unemployment administrators noted that the WARN sent by Toys R Us was written back in March, but state officials didn’t get it until a week after the shutdown took place!  British empire Canada based RA Centre issued a shutdown WARN for its ops in San Francisco, 140 jobs gone by the end of July!  Jasari Investments-Manteca Bowl issued a shutdown WARN, 69 jobs gone in July.   Irvine Property Management eliminating 55 jobs in Irvine, by July.   Spartan Shops eliminating 881 student jobs due to losing a contract with San Jose State University, university admin swore to students their jobs are not in jeopardy and even swore their hours and pay will remain the same, students called bull-shit on that promise!   California’s Saban Brands sold to Rhode Island based toy maker Hasbro and is now eliminating 70 jobs.  WWF Operating Company finally notified state unemployment admin that it killed 72 California jobs back in March.

COLORADO: In Pueblo, Rebound Sports shutdown after six years of selling second hand sports equipment, due to a sudden crash in sales.

CONNECTICUT: In New Milford, Kathy Henkel Fitness shutdown, the owner will continue teaching fitness classes at a competing fitness center.  “Supply Chain People Solutions” company Eclipse Advantage eliminating 51 Dayville jobs in July.

FLORIDA: In Orlando, Colonial Lanes shutdown after 59 years due to being sold to a property developer.  ‘Live game’ venue EXIT Tallahassee suddenly shutdown due to being kicked out by the landlord.  ABM/GCA Vehicle Services eliminating 86 Hollywood
International Airport jobs in July.   British empire United Kingdom based airport services contractor Menzies Aviation eliminating 123 Tampa International Airport jobs by the end of June!

IDAHO:  Non-profit Idaho Youth Ranch continues to kill jobs, this time five thrift stores in Blackfoot, Boise, Buhl, Emmett and Twin Falls suddenly shutdown because sales weren’t enough to pay the rent, utilities, transportation and labor!

ILLINOIS: Consulting company CVR issued a mass layoff WARN, 220 Chicago metro-sexual jobs gone by Xmas, due to loss of contract!  Too Big to Jail First Midwest Bank shutting down 19 offices, 150 jobs gone between now and Xmas!  The demise of Carson’s stores in the Chicago metro-sexual area will cost at least 8-hundred jobs! In Collinsville, after 83 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Home Furniture shutting down by Xmas, due to years of dealing with weather related property damage and declining sales: “We’ve been losing money for a number of years. The last 10 years have been tough.”-Ronnie Y. Fredman

INDIANA: In Seymore, after 124 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions, and even a building fire) Union Hardware shutdown because the owner took declining sales as a sign to retire.

IOWA: In Sioux City, after 11 years Salem Cycle Solutions shutting down when the inventory is gone, the owners say they’re tired of spending nights and weekends helping customers with bike problems, and they just lost their in-house mechanic: “We’re busier than we’ve every been, but we’re too busy, we can’t keep up, we want to but there’s a fine line there.”-Nick Salmen

KANSAS: Taxpayer subsidized passenger train Amtrak suddenly shutdown its ticket offices in Topeka and Garden City, outsourcing the sale of tickets to a contracted online company.

LOUISIANA: Fads and Frames shutting down its 25 years old Pineville store when the inventory is gone.

MASSACHUSETTS: Mitt Romney co-founded Framingham based, but now privately owned, Staples suddenly killed yet more corporate level jobs, 175 InfoTech employees now jobless, bringing this years corporate layoff tally to at least 2-hundred!  After 65 years Balich 5 & 10 shutting down, the second generation owner explaining “What hastened my decision was the fact that business has been slowing down to the point where it was hard to pay all my bills.”

MICHIGAN: What housing market recovery?  Illinois based MB Financial Bank eliminating 594 Michigan jobs due to the shutdown of mortgage operations in the state!  After more than 50 years House of Bedrooms shutting down two locations as soon as the inventory is gone.  In Battle Creek, after 29 years popular Images Formal Wear shutting down in July, so the tired owner can retire.  Also in Battle Creek, music/movie store FYE shutting down its Lakeview Square Mall location in July, saying “With the decline in sales, the store was no longer profitable.”  

MINNESOTA: Washington based Savers shutting down two for-profit thrift stores in the ‘Twin-Cities’ area, 146 jobs gone between July and October!   In Saint Cloud, Too Big to Jail Capital One announced plans to layoff Tech Engineering employees, local news media reported that since November 2017 Capital One has laid off more than 130 people in Saint Cloud! Also in Saint Cloud, California based clothier GAP shutting down its factory outlet store by the end of July, due to lack of sales.   In Detroit Lakes, after 112 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Norby’s Department Store shutting down when the massive inventory is gone, the family owners said that even though they have their own website (www.norbysonline.com) they still can’t compete with Amazon, another reason is that many product manufactures also sell directly to the public on the internet.   Best Buy shutdown its 10 years old Mall of America brick-n-mortar store.

MISSISSIPPI: Saks Fifth Avenue eliminating an undisclosed number of jobs at its Jackson service center, due to consolidation of work.

MISSOURI:  In Cape Girardeau, after 20 years Somewhere in Time Antiques shutdown.   In Dexter, the almost 90 years old (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Ben Franklin store shutting down when the inventory is gone.

MONTANA: In Missoula, after 23 years the last video store in the city, Crazy Mike’s,  shutdown not because of sales, but because the greedy landlord kicked them out.

NEW JERSEY: Apple shutdown one of its brick-n-mortar stores in Atlantic City, 52 jobs gone “Due to a sharp decline in tourism and visitors to the area…”   Online clothing seller Tahari ASL eliminating 101 jobs in Millburn, in July!  Online clothing seller Tory Burch eliminating 64 jobs in Jamesburg, in July.  The Hallmark gift store shutting down its Hampton Plaza location by the end of June, due to lack of sales.

NEW MEXICO: In Albuquerque, after 27 years Shoes on a Shoestring shutting down due to not being able to renew the lease.

NEW YORK: Fashion ‘start-up’ Le Tote eliminated 50 jobs between its NYC and California offices, because the online clothing ‘rental’ company became “too bloated”.  In Buffalo, after 17 years Spoiled Rotten Gift Boutique shutting down when the inventory is gone, because the owners realized they can make more money renting-out their property.  Premier Aviation Overhaul Center shutting down its ops in Rome, 127 jobs gone in August!  Triangle Aviation Services halting ops at Terminal 8 in John F. Kennedy Airport, 85 jobs gone due to loss of contract.  Also at JFK, Airline Service Professionals eliminating 236 jobs due to loss of contract with Jet Blue!   Sterling National Bank shutting down its Forest Hills Financial Center, and offices in Patchogue and Franklin Square, between August and Xmas, due to the take-over of competitor Astoria Bank.  Japan based Citizen Watch shutting down operations in NYC, 148 jobs affected by the end of June!

NORTH DAKOTA: In Grand Forks, Texas based Pier 1 Imports shutting down in July, apparently due to lack of sales.  In Bismarck, after eight years Branded Envy shutdown so the owner can spend more time with her family.

OHIO: Taxpayer subsidized passenger train Amtrak shutting down its Union Terminal (Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal) ticket office in June, outsourcing the sale of tickets to a contracted “caretaker”.  After 112 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Goldsteins Furniture shutting down three locations, the CEO blamed competition, the soon-to-be former Goldsteins locations will be taken over by a competitor.  What housing market recovery?  UnAmerican Too Big to Jail U.S. Bank shutting down mortgage ops in Bedford, 260 jobs gone in July!   Discovery Tours now bankrupt busted amid criminal investigation into the sudden cancellation of $100-thousand USD worth of taxpayer funded (paid in advance) school field trips.

PENNSYLVANIA: In Hellertown, after 54 years Hero Electric shutting down when the inventory is gone, so the owner can retire, because “Over the past few years, the business has mostly been repairs and service, and now the repairs are dying down, too.”  In Pittsburgh, after almost 70 years Murray Avenue News and Toys shutdown, the owner lamenting “The avenue isn’t the same. We don’t have the foot traffic we used to have. Mornings used to be so busy.” 

SOUTH DAKOTA: After 40 years Sioux Falls Music shutdown due to a crash in the number of people buying guitars, the ignorant owners blamed internet competition (ignorant because even Tennessee based guitar maker Gibson is bankrupt busted because of an across-the-board crash in global guitar sales). In Rapid City, after eight years Who’s Game House shutdown: “When you get too much competition, it puts a strain on all of those businesses they’re all fighting for the same dollars and so everybody kind of suffers but our biggest competitor honestly is mail order.”-Clancy Kingsbury, owner

TENNESSEE: First Tennessee Bank eliminating 58 jobs due to merging with competitor Capital Bank Financial.

TEXAS: “But wait, there’s more!” Cheap-ass As Seen on TV invention seller Ronco is now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to a failed attempt to raise $30-million USD.

UTAH: Utah led the nation in housing growth, but would-be buyers are feeling the price pinch

In Providence, Edward’s Furniture shutting down because the building has been sold, the store owner said he might open a new store if the rent is cheap enough.

VERMONT:  What construction industry recovery?  After 1-hundred years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Parker & Stearns building supplier shutdown both its locations due to a failed attempt to sell the business.

VIRGINIA: What construction industry recovery? After 1-hundred years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Boston Lumber Company suddenly shutdown due to failed attempts to sell the building supply store.  In Lynchburg, after two years the Patriotic Peacock shutdown, but the owner claims they were making money, the shutdown is because her family is moving to Arizona. For the second time since last November a Victory Lady Fitness center shutting down, this time a 30 years old op in Richmond, the administrators blame the greedy landlord: “Victory Lady’s lease is due for renewal and the rent renewal has become very expensive. The growth on West Broad Street has made it difficult to find affordable rent…”– Wendy Campbell, President of Victory Lady

WASHINGTON: British empire United Kingdom based airport services contractor Menzies Aviation issued a layoff WARN, 63 SeaTac jobs gone by July.

WISCONSIN: In Pleasant Prairie, marketing company M.G. Design Associates shutdown, 46 jobs gone due to lack of money, however, local news media report that the shutdown has resulted in a federal lawsuit by former employees who say the company has also affected 150 other jobs in California, Florida (51 jobs suddenly gone) and Nevada, and violated federal WARN rules!

Your leaders are lying to you, don’t forget to check out the thousands of layoffs in all these other U.S. industries.

OBAMA LEGACY: U.S. APPAREL INDUSTRY DEATH-SPIRAL

U.S. RETAIL/BANKING/SERVICE SECTOR COLLAPSE, April 2018: “A RETAIL COLLAPSE LIKE…THE GREAT DEPRESSION.”

SEARS KMART DEATH SPIRAL, May 2018:“ACCELERATED THE CLOSING OF UNPROFITABLE STORES”

U.S. INDUSTRIAL/MINING/LOGISTICS LAYOFFS, May 2018:“PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO DECOMPRESS.”

Dumbing Down the U.S.A., May 2018:“MORALE HAS NEVER BEEN LOWER.”

U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, May 2018:“TO ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY.”

U.S. government shenanigans, May 2018:‘ZOMBIE ALERT’ IS FOR REAL

U.S. food crisis, May 2018: “THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT”

ObamaCare ACA death spiral, May 2018:“…WILL CREATE DEATHS. THIS WILL KILL PEOPLE. PEOPLE WILL DIE BECAUSE OF THIS.”

DRUGS, THE AMERICAN WAY, May 2018: “BAG IT, SHIP IT, FORGET IT!”

“people are starting to decompress.”: U.S. industrial/mining/logistics layoffs, May 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss/shutdown announcements made in May 2018.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

 CALIFORNIA: Suppler of parts to aircraft manufacturers, Stratoflight Corporation issued a shutdown WARN for its Santa Ana ops, 57 jobs gone in July.  Georgia based mattress maker Simmons Bedding Company issued a shutdown WARN for its San Leandro factory, 153 jobs gone in July! Government contractor Bechtel issued a shutdown WARN for its ops in San Francisco, 126 jobs gone by the end of June! Taxpayer funded bus company First Transit issued a shutdown WARN due to losing its contract with Santa Maria, 69 jobs affected by the end of June. France based Zodiac Aerospace (C&D Zodiac) eliminating 13 jobs in Garden Grove, by July.  Petroleum management company Breitburn issued a shutdown WARN for its Los Angeles office, 51 jobs gone by July.

ILLINOIS: What automotive industry recovery? In Des Plaines, NTN Bearing issued a shutdown WARN, 36 jobs gone by August.  In Decatur, Jacobson Warehouse Company issued a shutdown WARN, 168 jobs gone in July due to “relocation”!

INDIANA: Duefol eliminating 150 jobs at its largest facility in North America, local news media reported the industrial packaging company also killed 250 jobs last year, due to contract losses!

IOWA: Bankrupt busted Zero Energy Systems suddenly laid off 40 people in Coralville.

MASSACHUSETTS: After 47 years Newport shoe maker Rockport (maker of Aravon, Dunham and Rockport brand shoes) now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and selling its assets.  Coca Cola shutting down its Pittsfield warehouse, at least 12 jobs gone in July.

MINNESOTA: What housing industry recovery? Mid Continent Cabinetry eliminating 195 jobs at its Cottonwood location, in July!

MISSOURI: Wisconsin based ‘american’ motorcycle maker Harley Davidson shutting down its factory in Kansas City, about 4-hundred once U.S. jobs being sent to Thailand (according to union reps)!

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Stratham based outdoor apparel maker Timberland suddenly laid off about 45 people in an attempt to spur company growth.

NEW JERSEY: Exelon Generation Company eliminating 84 jobs in June, as part of the ongoing shutdown of the country’s oldest nuclear power generator, Oyster Creek.

NEW YORK:  Nypro-Jabil issued a shutdown WARN for its Rochester location, 53 jobs gone by November.  Shoe wholesaler/supplier Harbor Footwear issued a shutdown WARN for its Port Washington location, 53 jobs gone by the end of July.

NORTH CAROLINA: Mitt Romney co-founded wunderkind Staples shutting down its Henderson distribution center (fulfillment center), transferring 1-hundred jobs from Henderson to Charlotte as part of consolidation operations!

NORTH DAKOTA: What automotive industry recovery? The new owners of vehicle wiring harness maker Fargo Assembly shutting down three factories, supposedly due to lack of orders, about 125 jobs gone as soon as the last orders are filled!

OHIO: Essity Operations Wausau-Wausau Paper Mill eliminating 60 jobs in Middletown by the end of September. Olmsted Falls based kitchen appliance maker Vitamix suddenly eliminated an undisclosed number of corporate jobs in order to “address changing market conditions”.   Bellefontaine based gun distributor/wholesaler AcuSport now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and for sale.  High heat resistant industrial products maker HarbisonWalker International shutting down its factories in Oak Hill and Sproul, local news media reported that at one time both factories employed 714 people.  OPW Fueling Components eliminating 22 Hamilton jobs in July. 

OREGON: Boise Cascade Elgin Sawmill eliminating 90 jobs due to factory shutdown.

PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia Shipyards eliminating 275 jobs due to lack of container ship building contracts!  State College based petroleum driller Rex Energy now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and selling off its assets. In Nazareth, NFI Interactive Logistics eliminating 261 jobs in July!  Book printer (both traditional and digital) Edwards Brothers Malloy issued a shutdown WARN for its Blue Ridge Summit office, 18 jobs gone in June.  What housing market recovery? Custom glass maker Benson Industries issued a shutdown WARN for its Lebanon location, 112 jobs gone in July!  Pittsburgh Glass Works issued a shutdown WARN for its Creighton location, 148 jobs gone by the end of June!  ‘Whole home total energy providers’ Worley & Obetz issued a shutdown WARN for its Lancaster location, 64 jobs gone in June.

TENNESSEE: After 120 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) iconic guitar maker Gibson now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to $500-million USD of debts.  According to New York Post, guitar sales have crashed by a whopping 1.5-million units in the past ten years!  What construction industry recovery? After 28 years, and more than $150-million USD worth of projects, Strauss Construction shutting down.

WASHINGTON: Georgia Pacific-Camas Paper Mill laid off 225 people!  Despite warnings from the corporation last year, many employees were still shocked: “The last few weeks were very intense, you know, and it was very sad. You spent a career building it and now it’s going to be coming down, so I think people are starting to decompress.”-Ellisa Schiffman

WISCONSIN:  Appliance maker Western Industries issued a shutdown WARN for its Jefferson County location, 85 jobs gone mid-July.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Mining/Industrial/Logistics layoffs, April 2018:“HISTORIC CHANGES”

OBAMA LEGACY: U.S. APPAREL INDUSTRY DEATH-SPIRAL