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“I was not prepared…no more leases…” 50% of Idaho families in poverty, ‘get used to it’! No more nail polish? : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 24 – 25 January 2016

January 26, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: AAR Aerostructures & Interiors ending metal fabrication ops in Huntsville, 72 jobs lost. Administrators said they need to “refocus” their business.

Arizona: In Chandler, after 25 years Video Paradise shutting down next week.

California: In San Francisco, after more than ten years the upscale Bourbon Steak shutting down in March, the owner said he decided not to renew the lease and is looking for a new home. Cosmetic company Coty shutting down their North Hollywood OPI nail polish factory, 4-hundred California jobs being lost to North Carolina! In San Diego, after laying off 1,314 people at the end of 2015 Qualcomm laid off an additional 32 employees.

Delaware: Local news media discovered that all four Sussex County Donut Connection shops have been shutdown! The owners of the franchise claim they’ve “retired”, but a former employee said “Business really had slacked off.” Tax records show $26,320-USD are still owed and a lawsuit says $31,211 in rent and utilities have never been paid!

Florida: Clothier GAP shutting down stores in Tampa and Saint Petersburg, as part of their plan to shutdown 175 stores!

Idaho: A new Corporation for Enterprise Development study says 45.5% of Idaho families are trapped in poverty and there’s no hope of getting out, as the 2016 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard calls the economic situation the “new normal”! Find out more info, or how your state ranks, click here.

Gem State Right to Work (you over) ‘lawmakers’ are apparently realizing how bad the financial situation is for families and are creating a new law that will exempt ‘cottage food’ businesses (literally mom-n-pop food sellers working out of their home) from the same health codes that traditional retail establishments must obey.

It’s been revealed that pesticides have contaminated farms in eastern Idaho. At least 809 hectares (2-thousand acres) are affected and must be cleaned up, at taxpayer expense of course (an estimated $250-thousand USD has been quoted as an initial payment!). The contamination was discovered when farmers reported mutations in their crops and animals. Investigators traced it to the massive use of Methyl Bromide back in 2006. The contamination affects potatoes, hay, alfalfa, wheat and barley. In 2006 paranoia erupted over the discovery of a nematode that destroys potato crops, state and federal agriculture ‘experts’ told farmers to use methyl bromide to kill the microbe. It was farmers who first reported the crop and livestock mutations, concluding that it must be the result of using the toxic chemical.

A new study is blaming low Gem State high school graduation rates on internet classes! The state Board of Education reported that ‘virtual schools’ can barely graduate 20% of their online students! I can attest to this claim as I know a young woman who tried the virtual school program for almost a year, before giving up and going back to old fashioned brick-n-mortar school in Pocatello. I remember her school counselor at Pokey High warning her she’d be back because the majority of students fail to complete the online courses. The online school seems easier because supposedly you’re on your own schedule, but it turns out to be harder than traditional school.

Michigan: What automotive industry recovery? Dearborn based Ford announced it will end sales operations in Japan and Indonesia, due to lack of sales!

Minnesota: In Saint Paul, after ten years the Highland Park Chatterbox Pub (deep fried cheeseburgers) suddenly shutdown, the owners say they were not able to find a needed third business partner and will now focus on their two smaller restaurants.

Missouri: University of Missouri Saint Louis warned of mass layoffs in order to deal with a $15-million USD shortfall ($2-million more than reported two months ago), no layoff numbers given, yet.

Nebraska: Sears Holdings confirmed it will shutdown the Omaha Kmart (on South 114th Street) in April, 66 jobs lost. It’s the second Omaha Kmart to be shutdown.

Nevada: In Mesquite, after five years Have Boutique Will Travel shutting down. The co-owners blame their age, one is 77 and the other is 80!

New York: In Amherst, after more than 1-hundred years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Newtrend Furniture shutting down. Maines Food & Party Warehouse shutting down their Ithaca and Greece grocery stores by February, no public explanation given. In NYC, after 40 years kitchen supplier Broadway Panhandler shutting down. The owner tried to sell the business but nobody wanted to buy it.

Ohio: The only Krispy Kreme donut shop in the Dayton area shutting down next week, 20 jobs lost. No explanation.

Oregon: The Terrace Cafe in Valley River Center shutting down after 36 years of serving up yummy food, because the mall management refuses to renew the lease. The restaurant owner said no reason was offered and “I was not prepared to have been told that no more leases would be given to me.”

Texas: In Dallas, the operators of Zhulong Gallery suddenly announced it will shutdown at the end of the month (instead of hosting an international photo exhibit), no reason given.

West Virginia: Coal miner Alpha Natural Resources killing more jobs, this time 9-hundred people at eight mines and two processing operations, by the end of March!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

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.”

Business/Economics, Idaho

Massive Sprint layoffs! 333-thousand tech jobs lost! Layoffs are now SOP! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 23 January 2016

January 24, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

California: Yet more Palo Alto tech employees in trouble, VMWare warning employees of mass layoffs due to their merger with Dell and EMC, as many as 9-hundred jobs lost! But wait there’s a whole lot more! Redwood Shores based Global Equities Research predicts that as many as 333-thousand tech jobs will be eliminated over the next 12 months, no thanks to rapidly developing advancements in areas like cloud computing! University of California Berkeley’s Campus Shared Services quietly laid off 28 people, back in December. Local Teamsters Union members are now making sure the public knows about the layoffs. In San Francisco, popular Ames restaurant shutting down after ten years. In Escondido, after 44 years Champion’s Family Restaurant shutting down next week.

Colorado: Kansas based Sprint shutting down their Arapahoe County call center, 178 jobs lost by April!

Connecticut: Affinity Health Care Management bankrupt busted just five years after their last bankruptcy, but this time it’s because Medicaid payments are being held back by the state Department of Social Services! Court documents stated that if the failed state ObamaCare loving government continues not to reimburse Medicaid services then Affinity Health Care Management will cease to exist!

Florida: In Orlando, after five years burger & beer joint Oblivion Taproom shutting down next week.

Georgia: In Ringgold, after two years Go Georgia Arts shutdown, the owner said he wasn’t getting enough commissions.

Idaho: More Gem State Right to Work (you over) ObamaCare bull-shit; “Ferch, a Boise chiropractor, had received notice from Regence BlueShield of Idaho that the health insurance company was cutting back its payments for ‘adjustments’ — his most common procedure — to 1990s levels. Ferch and a handful of fellow chiropractors met with the medical director for Regence. Ferch asked whether the medical director’s salary was the same as it had been in the 1990s. The room went silent……

….In Idaho, mutual insurance companies also differ from federal tax-exempt nonprofits in that they do not tell the public what they pay their leaders. Idaho law forbids regulators from divulging that information.”–SeattlePI

Illinois: God refusing to stop ‘his’ Lutheran Social Services (LSSI) from shutting down 30 offices across the state, and laying off 750 people! LSSI is the largest social services operator in the state and blames moronic state ‘lawmakers’ for failing to come up with a budget, resulting in non-profit LSSI being owed $6-million USD: “After 7 months, we no longer can provide services for which we aren’t being paid.”-Mark Stutrud, President and CEO

Kansas: Overland Park based Sprint notified 829 local employees they will lose their jobs very soon! In Saint John, Dillions Market shutting down by February. Dillions is the town’s only grocery store meaning residents will have to travel 20 miles to buy food!

Maine: New Jersey based Covanta Energy Corporation announced it will shutdown two plants, one in West Enfield and one in Jonesboro.

Missouri: New York & Co. shutting down their West Park Mall clothing store next week.

Montana: University of Montana has begun mass layoffs, eventually 192 full-time jobs will be eliminated!

New Mexico: Kansas based Sprint shutting down their Rio Rancho call center, 394 jobs lost by the beginning of February!

New York: Ichor Systems shutting down their Kingston factory, 96 jobs lost by the end of April. NYC based advertising company Ogilvy announced that layoffs are now SOP: “Today Ogilvy & Mather New York let go of less than 1% of our staff. This is yearly Standard Operating Procedure for a company of our size and scope of services.”

North Dakota: 95 coal miners about to lose their jobs at the Dakota Westmoreland Beulah mine. The layoffs start in March.

Tennessee: Kansas based Sprint shutting down their Blountville call center, 444 jobs lost by February!

Washington DC: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is consolidating operations at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, possibly eliminating more than 2-hundred jobs in the process!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

Business/Economics

“This is going to be widespread.” : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 21 – 22 January 2016

January 22, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: Sunset Landing Golf Course shutting down by the end of the month, as the owner (the Airport Authority) looks for better money making ways to use the land.

Alaska: Swamp Donkey Oilfield Services laying off 70 employees, owner Trent Lindberg warned “This is going to be widespread…….Overhead is too high to work for a reduced price. You can’t reduce your prices as much as oil companies require to get the jobs, but you need to reduce them if you’re going to get the work.”

Arizona: The Art Institute of Tucson shutting down as soon as the last of its 3-hundred students graduate. It’s directly connected to Education Management Corporation’s troubles with the U.S. Department of Education.

California: In Nevada County, Higgins Fire District laying off six employees in July due to local cash strapped taxpayers voting down a plan to raise taxes. Another recycling center going down, the Arcata Resource Recovery Center shutting down, blaming lack of people bringing in recyclables. Of course, prices are so low now you’re actually losing money going through the effort! But wait, what about the fact that Arcata City forces residents to use recycling bins, isn’t that enough for Arcata Resource Recovery Center? Nope, because Arcata Resource Recovery Center is being affected by low prices as well.

Florida: Ameris Bank shutting down its Jasper office on 2nd Avenue, by the end of the month.

Illinois: Chicago Public Schools announced yet more mass layoffs, 227 non-teaching jobs being eliminated! Sears Holdings confirmed the Morton ‘green’ Kmart shutting down by the end of April, 47 jobs lost.

Louisiana: East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court’s Office laid off 12 employees, as the Office is investigated for how it spends taxpayer funding.

Massachusetts: A prime example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs; local news reports say that because of Johnson & Johnson’s 3-thousand layoffs in its medical device division, another company called DePuy Synthes warned it might be forced to conduct mass layoffs at its Raynham medical device factory. Raynham city administrators are pissed because they gave DePuy massive tax breaks to prevent them from moving the factory to Indiana.

Mississippi: Coast Clothing shutting down in Pascagoula after 42 years.

New Mexico: In Albuquerque, after 18 years Lauren’s Hallmark Shop shutting down in February.

New Jersey: In Englishtown, Reiss Manufacturing issued a WARN saying 125 plastics molding employees will become unemployed in March!

France based Sanofi is about to issue a WARN affecting hundreds of employees in New Jersey. News reports say the drugs pusher is cutting jobs worldwide and “…a disproportionate number of job losses may occur in the United States.”

New York: “Home energy solutions” company K&L Green shutting down its Copiague operations, 56 jobs lost by the end of the month. In DeWitt, HVAC company Carrier sent a press release to local news media saying that layoffs are about to take place, no numbers given.

North Carolina: Sitel Operating Corporation shutting down its Asheville call center, 250 jobs lost by July!

Ohio: A prime example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs; local news reports say that because of Johnson & Johnson’s 3-thousand layoffs in its medical device division, another company called Ethicon could layoff all 824 medical device making employees in Blue Ash! (local news reports say at one point Ethicon employed 1,200+ people in Blue Ash) But wait there’s more! Proctor & Gamble is also killing jobs in Blue Ash, 1-thousand 150 jobs are being consolidated to operations in Mason! Sears Holdings confirmed the Warren Kmart on Parkman Road NW will shutdown in April, 63 jobs lost.

Tennessee: In Springfield, the Goody’s in the Moorland Shopping Center shutting down by the end of March.

Texas: Houston based natural gas driller Southwestern Energy laying off 1-thousand 1-hundred people, the majority in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia! Administrators blame crashing gas prices. Houston based oil driller Schlumberger revealed it eliminated 10-thousand jobs in 2015, and it will eliminate even more in 2016 because it lost $1-billion USD in its 4th quarter of 2015! The Galveston County Commissioners voted to shutdown popular fishing spot Rollover Pass saying it contributes to land erosion during hurricanes! Rollover Pass, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico, has been a favorite fishing destination since the 1950s.

Virginia: Historical tourist attraction Colonial Williamsburg laying off 60 people, blaming “conflicting priorities” and “strained resources”. In Arlington, Executive Menswear at the Crystal City Shops shutting down “very soon”.

Washington: Illinois based (but Seattle founded) Boeing warning that it could end production of its latest version of the iconic 747, resulting in mass layoffs for The Evergreen State. Administrators blame declining demand for civilian cargo aircraft. Seattle based Starbucks announced it will shutdown several two years old Teavana ‘tea bars’ in New York and California.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

20 January 2016: “circumstances beyond our control…changing demographics…declining sales”

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

Business/Economics

Sears Kmart update 22 January 2016: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah!

January 22, 2016 Hutchins AAron

18 January 2016: Four more

Here’s the updated list (new shutdowns in bold) of U.S. store closings that I’ve been compiling since the end of 2011:

Arizona: The Prescott Valley Kmart shutting down by April. No word on how many jobs lost, but one employee was quoted by local news as saying “Walmart won.” Local news reports say there is a Now Hiring sign posted on the Kmart store front. Reports that the Glendale Kmart will shutdown, no word on job losses. Scottsdale Sears/Great Indoors, Chandler Sears/Great Indoors. Recently revealed Arrowhead Towne Center Sears sold-off then rented back! Chandler Fashion Center Sears sold-off then rented back!

Alabama: Prattville Kmart will shutdown in April, 70 jobs lost. Florence Kmart in March, 64 jobs lost! A local news report said the employees knew nothing about it and were shocked to hear it from the news media! Dothan Kmart (south side of Ross Clark Circle) shutting down in March, 56 jobs lost. Gadsden Kmart (50 jobs lost), Mobile Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Auburn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Anniston Kmart (no word yet on how many jobs lost), Birmingham Eastwood Kmart (70 jobs lost), Decatur Mall Sears (91 jobs lost), Fort Payne Kmart, Northport Kmart (68 jobs lost), Dothan Sears (68 jobs lost), Huntsville Kmart (73 jobs lost), Sears Store and Auto Center at the Bel Air Mall in Mobile (more than 100 jobs lost).

California: Anaheim Kmart shutting down, 107 jobs lost! Between March and April, the Chula Vista Kmart, San Mateo Sears and Citrus Heights Kmart shutting down, a total of 3-hundred jobs lost! El Monte Sears (at least 40 jobs lost. Damien Arrula, El Monte’s economic development director, said the store manager had lied about what was going on: “The general manager of the store had just indicated to me that they were remodeling.”), two San Diego Sears (more than 80 jobs lost), Pleasant Hill Kmart (more than 50 jobs lost), Torrance Kmart, Fairfield Kmart (63 jobs lost), Lampert owned OSH taken over by Lowe’s home improvement in bankruptcy court, at least 17 of 99 stores to be closed down (935 jobs lost!), Rancho Cordova Kmart (97 jobs lost), San Clemente Kmart/Sears/Kmart on Camino de Estrella (58 jobs lost), placed on an official hit list in 2011 the Oceanside Kmart on College Boulevard finally being shut down, Banning Kmart (91 jobs lost) recently revealed that Sears Holdings is still paying rent on the abandoned property, Laguna Hills Mall Sears, San Diego Mid-City Kmart (73 jobs lost), Hemet Kmart (77 jobs lost), Oakland Sears repair center (75 jobs lost), San Mateo Kmart (82 jobs lost to an apartment building connected to public transportation), Hesperia Kmart building sold at a loss to a vulture capitalist REIT, no word on if the Kmart will be shutdown. Customers complain that the Kmart employees have a bad attitude, gee I wonder why? Yuba City Kmart (63 jobs lost), Rocklin Kmart (at least 63 jobs lost, the store had just posted “Now Hiring” signs), San Leandro Kmart (102 jobs lost), San Jose Mercury News says the El Centro Kmart to shutdown in January, the website Foursquare says the Covina Kmart is now shutdown (other sources say it will shutdown in December), Cupertino Sears and Auto Center (98 jobs lost), somebody posted on yelp* that the Diamond Bar Kmart was shutting down in December (confirmed by Armijo Newspapers), Westfield Topanga Sears (122 jobs lost), it looks like the Blythe Kmart is being slowly shutdown despite denial by Sears Holdings. San Mateo Kmart being demolished to make room for 599 unit apartment complex, as part of the the Hayward Park Caltrain Station project. Atwater Kmart (74 jobs lost), Los Banos Kmart (67 jobs lost).

Colorado: Broomfield Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Glenwood Springs Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lone Tree Sears/Great Indoors, Longmont Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Pueblos’ South Side Kmart (52 jobs lost), Denver Kmart (number of jobs lost have not been made public at this time, but could be at least 40), Colorado Springs Kmart at Powers and Palmer Park boulevards (57 jobs lost), Fort Collins Sears (67 jobs lost), Denver-Cherry Creek North Sears store & Auto Center (66 jobs lost).

Connecticut: Waterbury Big Kmart, Torrington Kmart (73 jobs lost), Enfield Sears Optical (no word on jobs lost), Wallingford Sears Appliance & Hardware (employees say the shutdown was a surprise, I guess they don’t read Blind Bat News), Wallingford Sears Appliance & Hardware (at least 13 jobs lost).

Delaware: Dover Kmart (at least 72 jobs lost, some reports said 100), Seaford Sears (30 jobs lost), Claymont Kmart (87 jobs lost).

Florida: The Lutz Kmart shutting down by March, 62 jobs lost. The 46 years old Daytona Beach Kmart, on International Speedway Boulevard, is shutting down by mid-March, 86 jobs lost. Fernandina Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Callaway Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Orange City Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Deland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Stuart Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), West Palm Beach Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Port St. Lucie Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Crystal River Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), New Smyrna Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint Augustine Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Pompano Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jacksonville Kmart on 5751 Beach Boulevard (71 jobs lost), second Kmart in Jacksonville on 4645 Blanding Boulevard (83 jobs lost), Ocoee Sears (102 jobs lost), Pensacola Kmart on Airport Boulevard closed in 2011, Pensacola Kmart on Mobile Highway closed in February 2013 (69 jobs lost), Pensacola Kmart on East 9 Mile Road will close in May (73 jobs lost), Hialeah Kmart (67 jobs lost), Bonita Springs Kmart (67 jobs lost), Mount Dora Kmart (100 jobs lost), Lake Mary Kmart, Panama City Beach Kmart (54 jobs lost), Winter Park Kmart (100 jobs lost), Niceville Kmart (59 jobs lost), Winter Haven Kmart (92 jobs lost), Palm Bay Kmart, Oakland Park Kmart (112 jobs lost), Clearwater Sears Auto Center (21 jobs lost), Zephyrhills Kmart (70 jobs lost), Winter Springs Kmart (69 jobs lost), Naples Kmart (72 jobs lost), New Port Richey Kmart (58 jobs lost), ‘redevelopment’ of Aventura Sears & Auto Center into an “open-air village” (unknown how many jobs affected), Kmart on Northeast 108 Street being annexed by Miami Shores, Sears Holdings threatens to shutdown Kmart as a result of higher local taxes. The property that’s home to an operating Kmart, on South Green Bay Road in Racine, was foreclosed by the local Sheriff and sold-off for $2.5-million, no word on what the new property owner will do with it. Fort Myers Kmart (67 jobs lost). Dicks Sportings Goods subleasing space in an existing Sears store in Palm Beach Gardens.

Georgia: Dublin Kmart will shutdown in April, 71 jobs lost. Milledgeville Kmart shutdown in April, 60+ jobs lost. Unconfirmed reports that the Rome Kmarts shutting down by mid-April, no word on how many jobs lost. Mount Berry Square Mall Sears and Auto Center shutting down in March, 86 jobs lost. Macon Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Buford Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Douglasville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Atlanta Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Columbus Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jonesboro Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Cartersville Kmart (74 jobs lost), Hiram Kmart (53 jobs lost), Marietta-East Cobb Kmart, Warner Robins Kmart (77 jobs lost), Coweta County Kmart distribution center (164 jobs lost), one of the last two North Augusta Kmart to be torn down by new property owner from Canada, Sears Holdings denies the Kmart will shutdown.

Guam: Sears Hometown Store.

Hawaii: Iconic 25 years old Nimitz HWY Iwilei-Honolulu Kmart shutting down in March, 141 jobs lost! Honolulu Sears (owned by GGP, 372 jobs lost! GGP spending $573-million chopping it up into smaller store spaces), Kauai Sears (41 jobs lost), Iwilei-Honolulu Kmart for lease (no confirmation of store closing).

Idaho: Boise Kmart on Fairview shutting down by mid-March, 56 jobs lost. Pocatello Kmart shutting down by April, 65 jobs lost. Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost), Rexburg Kmart (63 jobs lost), Chubbuck Pine Ridge Mall Sears shutdown by the end of October/beginning of November 2014 (the remaining 28 jobs lost).

Illinois: Morton ‘green’ Kmart shutting down by the end of April, 47 jobs lost. Canton Kmart shutting down in April, 38 jobs lost. Alton Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Melrose Park Sears parts and repair center (50 jobs lost), Zion Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Lawn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), McHenry Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Peru Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lombard Sears/Great Indoors (at least 40 jobs lost), Fairview Heights Kmart (81 jobs lost), Freeport Kmart (45 jobs lost), Pontiac Kmart (more than 47 jobs lost), Homer Glen Kmart (82 jobs lost), Streator Kmart (45 jobs lost), Lombard Kmart (70 jobs lost), Naperville Kmart (98 jobs lost), Calumet Sears (164 jobs lost), two Sears stores in Grand Crossing area of Chicago (247 jobs lost!), Mount Vernon Sears (68 jobs lost), Moline Sears (at least 60 jobs lost), Homewood Kmart (185 jobs lost), Belvidere Kmart (91 jobs lost?) revealed is now a perpetual closing sale Kmart At A Discount store, Champaign’s Market Place Mall Sears (56 jobs lost), Sterling Kmart (60 jobs lost), Montgomery Kmart (81 jobs lost), Mattoon Sears (more than 40 jobs lost), Chicago Sears on North State Street (160 jobs lost), Chicago Sears Craftsman Experience store, Galesburg Sears (46 jobs lost), White Lake Township Kmart (42 jobs lost), Orland Park Sears Appliance, Collinsville Kmart (84 jobs lost), Crystal Lake Kmart (at least 77 jobs lost), Danville Sears store & Auto Center (63 jobs lost), Forsyth Sears store & Auto Center (45 jobs lost), Peoria Kmart (73 jobs lost), Forest Park Kmart (107 jobs lost), Chicago Sears on North and Harlem avenues, supposedly it’s being replaced (most likely at taxpayer expense) with a new building and it will become a Sears-Mariano’s store, Bloomington Kmart (79 jobs lost), Hoffman Estates Headquarters 100 jobs eliminated, another 15 corporate jobs eliminated elsewhere, Chicago-Wicker Park Kmart (106 jobs lost), abandoned Market Place Mall Sears location to be occupied by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream. 58 Chicago area stores up for lease or sale. North Mayfair Kmart (99 jobs lost), Chicago Kmart at 5033 North Elston Avenue (99 jobs lost). By the way, Illinois elected officials gave Sears Holdings/Hoffman Estates a $150 million USD tax break to keep their headquarters in the state. The tax break was not tied to any promise not to close stores.

Indiana: Terre Haute Kmart by April, 62 jobs lost. Anderson Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint John Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Richmond Sears (49 jobs lost), South Anthony Kmart (70 jobs lost), Fort Wayne Kmart on South Anthony Boulevard (70 jobs lost), FairOaks Mall Kmart, Logansport Sears (43 jobs lost), Muncie Kmart (59 jobs lost), Fort Wayne Kmart on Coliseum Boulevard North (69 jobs lost), Decatur Kmart (49 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart on Madison Avenue (131 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart on Washington Street (139 jobs lost), Bedford Kmart (62 jobs lost), Indianapolis (Evansville) Sears & Auto Center at Washington Square Mall (91 jobs lost), Greenwood Kmart (78 jobs lost), Plymouth Kmart (68 jobs lost), Bloomington Sears to be replaced by Whole Foods grocery store.

Iowa: Ottumwa Kmart shutting down by April, 38 jobs lost. Cedar Rapids Kmart on 16th Ave (at least 40 jobs lost), Davenport Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Burlington Kmart (50 jobs lost), Coralville Sears (94 jobs lost, this is a store sold to GGP earlier in the year), Cedar Rapids Kmart on Collins Road NE (56 jobs lost), Mason City Kmart (50 jobs lost), Clive Kmart (at least 49 jobs lost), Ames Kmart (44 jobs lost), Fort Dodge Sears (no job loss numbers made public, yet. The Auto Center was secretly shutdown in September), 56 years old Mason City Sears & Auto Center (more than 100 jobs lost). Davenport Kmart (59 jobs lost), Belvidere Kmart (67 jobs lost).

Kansas: North Topeka Kmart shutting down by Spring, 49 jobs lost. Lawrence Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Merriam Kmart-then Sears-then Kmart (jobs lost unknown), Wichita Sears store & Auto Center (103 jobs lost), Manhattan Sears & Auto Center (number of jobs lost were never revealed).

Kentucky: Middlesboro Sears (in September 2012 the Sears store re-opened under independent ownership, official grand re-opening scheduled for November), Winchester Kmart, Hazard Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lexington Fayette Mall Sears (114 jobs lost!), Newport Kmart (81 jobs lost), Cannonsburg Sears and Sears Auto Center (no employee info given), Louisville Dixie Highway Kmart/Sears/Kmart shutdown and now being taken over by Kroger basically to sell the same crap the old Kmart did! Madisonville Kmart (39 jobs lost), Owensboro Sears store & Auto Center (52 jobs lost).

Louisiana: Slidell Sears (77 job lost), Gretna Kmart (94 jobs lost), Metairie Kmart secretly sold off, no word if it will be shutdown, Laplace Sears Hometown Store.

Maine: Lewiston Sears (60 to 70 jobs lost), Presque Isle Aroostook Centre Mall Sears (63 jobs lost), Aroostook Centre Mall Sears Auto Center leased out to VIP Tires & Service.

Maryland: Ellicott Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Gaithersburg Sears/Great Indoors, Landover Sears rebuild & call center (115 jobs lost), Baltimore Kmart on Wabash Avenue (107 jobs lost), Parkville Kmart (102 jobs lost), California Kmart (71 jobs lost), Sears Hometown Store in Perryville.

Massachusetts: North Reading Sears Hardware store closed, lease not renewed, Milford Kmart (80 jobs lost), Kingston Kmart (73 jobs lost). Braintree Kmart on Grossman Drive shutdown. Also, the Braintree South Shore Plaza Sears store is renting out an entire floor to Ireland based Primark. Even with the lease to Primark there is still 4-thousand square feet of vacant space in the Sears store. The Sears at the Auburn Mall shutdown on Black Friday due to electrical fire. The store was experiencing electrical problems, an investigation is underway.

Michigan: The Sears and Auto Center in Fort Gratiot shutting down by mid-March, 48 jobs lost. Three Kmart stores by April, one in Virginia, Superior and Ironwood, 137 jobs lost! Sears/Great Indoors, Brighton Sears Grand/Essentials, Harper Woods Sears Full line, Monroe Sears Full line, Adrian Sears Full line, Washington Township Kmart, Chesterfield Kmart, Woodhaven Kmart, Saginaw Kmart on Bay Road, Flint Kmart on Dort Highway (46 jobs lost), Gaylord Kmart (48 jobs lost), Sterling Kmart (58 jobs lost), Bloomfield Township Kmart and Sears, Bad Axe Kmart (61 jobs lost), Ypsilanti Township Kmart (83 jobs lost), Petoskey Kmart (45 jobs lost), Saint John’s Kmart (48 jobs lost), White Lake Township “Store of the Future” Kmart (42 jobs lost), Grand Blanc Kmart (49 jobs lost), Lapeer Kmart (56 jobs lost), Southgate Kmart (155 jobs lost), Detroit’s Telegraph Road Kmart (115 jobs lost), Waterford Township Sears (no word on how many jobs lost), Rochester Hills Kmart (77 jobs lost), ‘perfect Kmart town’ of Port Huron Kmart (188 jobs lost), Flint Kmart on Miller Road (81 jobs lost), Burton Kmart (85 jobs lost), Madison Heights Kmart (179 jobs lost), it’s now official the last remaining Saginaw Kmart (on Gratiot Road) will remain shutdown after its roof collapsed during a snowstorm back in January 2014 (Sears Holdings claims only 18 people worked there at the time of the collapse!), Ann Arbor Kmart (59 jobs lost), Iron Mountain Kmart (54 jobs lost), Bangor Township Sears aka Bay City Mall Sears, the Auto Center was already secretly shutdown some time ago (at least 47 jobs lost), Big Rapids Kmart (about 50 jobs lost). Vacant Wyandotte Sears Auto Center is being renovated at a cost to taxpayers of $1-million & 20-thousand, plus 15 years worth of tax breaks valued at $2-million! Shakopee Kmart distribution center shutdown and sold-off for $17-million in 2013, now it’s finally getting a new tenant; snowmobile and electric cart maker Polaris Industries will rent out a fraction of the building to use as their new parts warehouse. The Kmart Plaza in Sandusky sold to “A group of investors”, no word on what will happen to the Kmart store.

Minnesota: Dundas Kmart by April, 32 jobs lost. Thunderbird Mall Kmart shutting down in April, 48 jobs lost. Willmar Kmart, Duluth Kmart, New Hope Kmart, White Bear Lake Kmart, Bemidji Kmart, Monticello Kmart, GGP owned Sears Auto Center in the Apache Mall closed (10 jobs lost), the entire Sears store in the Apache Mall being sold off, Fergus Falls Kmart (40 jobs lost), Fergus Falls Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Alexandria Kmart (46 jobs lost), Grand Rapids Kmart (61 jobs lost), Seritage is selling off three Sears Auto Centers in Minnetonka, Brooklyn Center and Saint Paul, Marshall Kmart (57 jobs lost), Oakdale Kmart (77 hourly wage employees losing their jobs, unknown how many salaried employees will become unemployed), Winona Kmart (67 jobs lost), Minneapolis city officials trying to shutdown profit making Nicollet Avenue Kmart, to make way for a new road. Anoka Kmart (47 jobs lost), Blaine Kmart (60 jobs lost), Burnsville Kmart (62 jobs lost), Waite Park Kmart (57 jobs lost), Northeast Minneapolis Sears Hometown & Outlet store now for sale, Coon Rapids Sears Hometown & Outlet store now for sale.

Mississippi: The 44 years old Greenville Kmart shutting down in April, no word on job losses. Jackson Sears Full line, McComb Sears Full line, Columbus Sears Full line, Gautier Sears (71 jobs lost), Waveland Gulfport Kmart (32 jobs lost), Pass Road Gulfport Kmart (52 jobs lost), Pascagoula Sears at the Singing River Mall, Olive Branch distribution center (unknown how many jobs lost).

Missouri: Lee’s Summit Sears Grand/Essentials, Saint Louis Sears Full line, High Ridge Kmart (59 jobs lost), Ellisville Kmart (55 jobs lost), Springfield Kmart on South Campbell Avenue (60 jobs lost), South Belt Kmart (64 jobs lost), Florissant Kmart (100 jobs lost), O’Fallon Kmart (76 jobs lost).

Montana: Missoula Kmart (50 jobs lost), Great Falls Kmart (closed “until further notice” due to fire, 63 jobs on hold), Great Falls Sears store & Auto Center (65 jobs lost) due to great sales (ironically) the shutdown date has been moved from 07 December 2014 to 23 November, Bozeman Kmart (37 jobs lost), Missoula Sears store and Auto Center (57 jobs lost).

Nebraska: Grand Island Kmart (55 jobs lost), Omaha Kmart near West Maple Road (50 jobs lost).

Nevada: Sparks Kmart distribution center (100 jobs lost).

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials, Portsmouth Kmart (30 jobs lost), Claremont Kmart (59 jobs lost).

New Jersey: Lawnside Kmart (about 80 jobs lost), Howell Kmart (57 jobs lost), Berlin Kmart, Dover Kmart (92 jobs lost), Randolf Kmart (91 jobs lost), Paramus Kmart (74 jobs lost), Closter Kmart (102 jobs lost), Vineland Kmart (74 jobs lost). After 18 years Sears Holdings shutdown their Roselle Sears Hardware store due to “landlord issues”.

New Mexico: Las Cruces Kmart (58 jobs lost), Albuquerque Kmart on Central SW (80 jobs lost), Rio Rancho Kmart (59 jobs lost).

New York: Staten Island Mall Sears Auto Center will shutdown in February, 20 jobs lost. Lindenhurst Sears Hardware, North Babylon Sears Hardware, Hauppauge Sears Hardware, Depew (Lancaster?) Kmart (68 jobs lost), Colonie Kmart (72 jobs lost), Fulton Kmart (51 jobs lost), Clifton Park Kmart (74 jobs lost) now revealed to be turned into a Town Center with more than 200 apartments at an estimated cost of $50-million, Latham Kmart (61 jobs lost), East Greenbush-Rensselaer Kmart (70 jobs lost), Tonawanda Sears Appliance and Hardware, Bronx Sears (91 jobs lost), BBN reader reported that the Ithaca Sears and Auto Center shutdown and one month later it’s been officially confirmed (at least 37 jobs lost), DeWitt Kmart (92 jobs lost), Auburn Sears (51 jobs lost), Massena Sears and Auto Center (51 jobs lost), Staten Island Mall Sears leased out to Ireland’s Primark, Bay Shore Sears and Sears Auto Center (144 jobs lost), New Hartford Sears & Auto Center (109 jobs lost), Lancaster Kmart sold for $1.7-million to Dave’s Christmas Wonderland. Herkimer Sears Hometown, Saranac Lake Sears Hometown the ‘independent’ co-owners said Sears Holdings forced them to shutdown. Melville Appliance Repair Division (31 jobs lost).

North Carolina: Cary Kmart (71 jobs lost), High Point Sears, Moorehead Sears, Rocky Mount Sears, Statesville Sears, Durham Kmart (79 jobs lost), Asheville Kmart (53 jobs lost), West Smithfield Kmart (59 jobs lost), Winston-Salem Kmart (69 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (58 jobs lost), South Ashville Kmart on Hendersonville Road, Raleigh Kmart (88 jobs lost), Garner Kmart, Cleveland County mall Sears (56 jobs lost), Charlotte Kmart (89 jobs lost), Conover Kmart (74 jobs lost), Raleigh Kmart on Capital Boulevard (53 jobs lost), High Point Kmart (71 jobs lost), Boone Kmart (41 jobs lost), Greensboro Kmart (96 jobs lost), Gastonia Sears store & Auto Center (65 jobs lost), Kinston Kmart (64 jobs lost), Cary Sears (66 jobs lost), Greensboro Kmart distribution center (130 jobs lost), Greenville Kmart (75 jobs lost), Kinston Sears Hometown Store shutdown with little notice, Lexington Sears Hometown Store.

North Dakota: Jamestown Kmart (45 jobs lost), Dickinson Kmart (41 jobs lost, despite a “Now Hiring” sign on the front of the store).

Ohio: Without warning the Medina Sears Appliance & Hardware Store shutdown. Warren Kmart on Parkman Road NW will shutdown in April, 63 jobs lost. Zanesville Kmart shutting down mid-April, 47 jobs lost. Steubenville Kmart shutting down by April, 65 jobs lost. Boardman Kmart by April, 81 jobs lost. Chagrin Falls Kmart, Springfield Kmart, two Toledo Kmarts, Medina Kmart, Columbus Kmart, Columbus Sears/Great Indoors, Zanesville Sears (67 jobs lost), Trotwood Kmart (71 jobs lost), Austintown Sears auto parts and service on Interstate Boulevard, London Kmart (no word on number of jobs lost), Trotwood Sears (67 jobs lost), Westlake Kmart/Sears (at least 57 jobs lost), Xenia Kmart (at least 57 jobs lost), Norwalk Kmart (52 jobs lost), Blue Ash Kmart (77 jobs lost), Northwood Sears at Woodville Mall (36 jobs lost), Conneaut Kmart (43 jobs lost), Anderson Township Kmart (71 jobs lost), Brooklyn Kmart (200 jobs lost), Columbus Lockbourne Industrial Parkway Sears distribution center (200 jobs lost), also in Columbus, Sears Product Rebuild-Call Center (112 jobs lost), Marion Sears Auto Center (at least nine jobs lost), Springfield Kmart #3767 (68 jobs lost), Fairborn Kmart (66 jobs lost), Solon Sears & Auto Center (at least 53 jobs lost), Tiffin Sears Hometown Store. Also, Van Wert Sears franchise bought out by Kirk Berryman, owner of Computer & Networking Technologies (CNT), who plans on moving the store to a new location. Fairlawn Sears Appliance & Hardware, Macedonia Sears Appliance & Hardware, Lorain Sears Appliance & Hardware, Elyria Sears Appliance & Hardware, North Olmsted Sears Appliance & Hardware, Sheffield Village Sears Appliance & Hardware, Akron Sears Appliance & Hardware.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Sears (98 jobs lost, GGP owned, GGP wants a $2 million sales tax rebate, claiming it’s needed to offset capital investments needed to bring the space up to the standards for potential new tenants), Shawnee Sears (31 jobs lost), Sand Springs Kmart (52 jobs lost), Muskogee Sears (60 jobs lost), Enid Sears and Auto Center (at least 38 jobs lost), Tulsa BigKmart (51 jobs lost).

Oregon: Roseburg Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Tualatin Kmart Center (new property owner from California is tearing everything down for new shopping center, so far no indication the Kmart will be part of the new shopping center), Milwaukie Kmart (61 jobs lost), Coos Bay Kmart (25 jobs lost), Bend Sears (48 jobs lost), Klamath Falls Kmart (64 jobs lost), Albany Kmart (64 jobs lost), Portland Sears Homes Services (no notice), Albany Sears (57 jobs lost), in October a BBN reader warned that Oregon City Kmart was being quietly shutdown, confirmed on 06 November 2014 by Sears Holdings (70 jobs lost). Ontario Kmart (55 jobs lost).

Pennsylvania: Reports that the Exton Kmart will shutdown, no word on job losses. Upper Darby Sears Full line, Pottstown Sears Full line, Pittsburgh Kmart, Wilkins Sears, Warminster Kmart (85 jobs lost), Shippensburg Kmart (46 jobs lost), Moon Kmart (143 jobs lost), Bethlehem Township Kmart (62 jobs lost), Philadelphia Gallery Mall Kmart (120 jobs lost), Philadelphia Kmart on Orthodox Street and Castor Avenue (169 jobs lost), Levittown/Middle Township Kmart (87 jobs lost), Waynesboro Kmart (43 jobs lost), Sanatoga-Lower Pottsgrove Kmart (65 jobs lost, the store was also advertising for new hires!), West Mifflin Sears store & Auto Center (88 jobs lost), Rochester Kmart (78 jobs lost), Frazer (Pittsburg Mills Mall) Sears and Auto Center (97 jobs lost), Bloomsburg Sears (57 jobs lost), Frackville Sears and Auto Center (84 jobs lost), North Cornwall Township Sears (51 jobs lost), King of Prussia Sears and Auto Center (no word on number of jobs lost), Lebanon Sears (51 jobs lost), Scotland Chambersburg Mall Sears and Auto Center (62 jobs lost), the upper level of the Willow Grove Mall Sears store to be leased by Primark, King of Prussia Sears store leased out to clothing retailer Primark, East Towne Mall Kmart (51 jobs lost), Frackville Kmart in the Skuylkill Mall (80 jobs lost), Mount Pocono Kmart (66 jobs lost), Fairless Hills Sears Hardware. Granite Run Mall shutdown, meaning the Sears and Sears Auto Center now apparently on a month to month (possibly day to day) lease are soon to follow. Brookhaven Kmart (89 jobs lost).

Puerto Rico: Vega Baja Kmart (206 jobs lost).

South Carolina: Sumter Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Orangeburg Sears (57 jobs lost), Columbia Kmart on Fort Jackson Boulevard in 2012, Columbia Kmart on Bush River Road in 2009, Columbia Kmart on St Andrews Road (66 jobs lost), Irmo Kmart (no info on how many jobs lost), both Greenville Kmarts (140 jobs lost between the two), Mount Pleasant Kmart (43 jobs lost), Harbison Sears & Sears Auto Center in the Columbiana Centre mall (97 jobs lost), Aiken Sears & Sears Auto Center (at least 54 jobs lost), Inlet Square Mall Kmart (50 jobs lost), West Ashely Kmart (69 jobs lost), Myrtle Beach Kmart (59 jobs lost), Easley Kmart (62 jobs lost).

South Dakota: The Pierre Kmart shutting down by the end of March, 45 jobs lost. The Michell Kmart shutting down in April, 52 jobs lost. Spearfish Kmart (51 jobs lost), Sturgis Kmart (57 jobs lost).

Tennessee: The Murfreesboro Kmart shutting down by the end of April, 43 jobs lost. A Memphis Sears and Auto Center (on Poplar Avenue) shutting down in April, 109 jobs lost! Clarksville Kmart shutting down in April, 68 jobs lost. Cleveland Kmart shutting down by mid-March, 67 jobs lost. Antioch Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Cleveland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Ridge Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Morristown Sears (about 70 jobs lost), Clinton South Kmart, Franklin Cool Springs Galleria Sears (92 jobs lost), Memphis Hickory Ridge mall Sears (job loss data not revealed), 48 years old Nashville Kmart on Nolensville Pike to close by January 2014 (57 jobs lost), Franklin Kmart (33 jobs lost), Dickson Kmart (65 jobs lost), talks in progress to end lease for Bellevue (Nashville) Center Mall Sears, Nashville Bellevue Center Sears & Auto Center (at least 44 jobs lost).

Texas: Two Sears parts and repair centers closing in The Woodlands (117 jobs lost), rebuild center in Garland (58 jobs lost), Farmers Branch Sears/Great Indoors, Houston Sears Great/Indoors, Dallas Sears home appliance parts distribution center (77 jobs lost), Simon Property Group owned McAllen Sears store & Auto Center (so far no word on how many jobs will be lost), recently revealed Palestine Sears Hometown (franchise owner quit to work as assistant manager at a local Dollar General). Wichita Falls Sears (56 jobs lost right before Xmas).

Utah: 35 years old Richfield Kmart will shutdown in April, 63 jobs lost. North Logan Kmart shutting down by April, 58 jobs lost. Murray Sears (local news media in Utah never reported the closure, but they reported that the building was demolished), Orem Kmart (no details reported), Woods Cross Kmart (54 jobs lost), Provo Kmart demolished in anticipation of yet another AtHome furniture store.

Vermont: The Bennington Sears Hometown Store shutdown. Rutland Sears store & Auto Center (65 jobs lost), South Burlington Kmart (66 jobs lost).

Virginia: The Cedar Bluff (50 jobs lost), Covington (36 jobs lost) and Virginia Beach on General Booth Boulevard (no job numbers reported) Kmarts shutting down by mid-April! The Sears Hometown Store in Culpeper shutting down by the end of the month. Norfolk Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Midlothian Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Richmond Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lynchburg Sears (84 jobs lost), Fairfax Kmart (no word on how many jobs lost), Christiansburg Sears (59 jobs lost), Norfolk Kmart on East Little Creek Road (77 jobs lost), Manassas Kmart (71 jobs lost), Stafford Sears Hometown, Newport News-Denbigh Kmart (at least 50 jobs lost), Wise Kmart (58 jobs lost), Harrisonburg Kmart (79 jobs lost), Winchester Kmart (91 jobs lost), Dale City Kmart (69 jobs lost), Chesapeake Sears and Auto Center (82 jobs lost), Front Royal Kmart (88 jobs lost), Pembroke Mall Sears renting out part of their store to DSW & Nordstrom Rack, Sears Holdings say they’re still looking for a “third tenant” for their occupied space. The current nearby Sears Auto Center will be rented out to REI. Colonial Heights Kmart (113 jobs lost), Virginia Beach Hilltop Square Shopping Center Kmart (82 jobs lost).

Washington: Eatonville Sears Hometown store. Walla Walla Sears Full line (in August 2012, it was reported that an independent owner of Sears Hometown stores will open a store in Walla Walla), Lacey Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Kelso Sears (47 jobs lost), Lakewood Kmart (59 jobs lost), Bellingham Sears (92 jobs lost), Seattle Kmart (85 jobs lost), East Wenatchee Sears (59 jobs lost), Puyallup Kmart (51 jobs lost), Oak Harbor Kmart (68 jobs lost), Sodo Sears and Sears Auto Center (79 jobs lost), Everett Kmart (65 jobs lost), Marysville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

West Virginia: Oak Hill Kmart (59 jobs lost), Morgantown Kmart (100 jobs lost), Bluefield Sears store & Auto Center (64 jobs lost).

Wisconsin: Superior Kmart shutting down in April, 42 jobs lost. West Baraboo Sears (at least 40 jobs lost, local village officials say the store generated 3% of local tax collections), Rice Lake Kmart (about 71 jobs lost), Brookfield Kmart (56 jobs lost), Racine’s Regency Mall Sears (52 jobs lost), Fort Atkinson Kmart (51 jobs lost), Greenfield Kmart (107 jobs lost), Portage Kmart (78 jobs lost) and Hales Corner (129 jobs lost), Chippewa Falls Kmart (79 jobs lost), Menomonie Kmart (at least 50 jobs lost), Ashwaubenon Kmart recently revealed now owned by Green Bay Packers, will be torn down (80 jobs lost), Shawano Kmart (55 jobs lost), Fond du Lac Sears (42 jobs lost), Glendale Sears store & Auto Center (86 jobs lost), Janesville Kmart (70 jobs lost), Glendale Sears Rebuild center (67 jobs lost), Sheboygan Sears & Auto Center (at least 31 jobs lost), Eau Claire Kmart (93 jobs lost), Plymouth Kmart (59 jobs lost before Xmas), Sheboygan Sears Rebuild Center (30 jobs lost), Wauwatosa Kmart (103 jobs lost).

On top of that, Sears Holdings sold stores to General Growth Properties (GGP), of which it has been reported that most of those stores will be closed.

Here’s the list of 11 Sears stores now owned by GGP:

Iowa: Coral Ridge Mall (it’s official the Sears is closing, see above), and Mall of the Bluffs

Texas: The Woodlands Mall (this does not involve the two repair centers being closed by Sears)

Florida: West Oaks Mall

Utah: Fashion Place, and Provo Towne Centre (note the evil British empire way of spelling town & center. Due to a favorable lease agreement the GGP owned Provo Sears will continue to stay open under Sears Holdings management)

Oklahoma: Quail Springs Mall (it’s official, the Sears closed, see above)

Hawaii: Ala Moana Center (closed, see above)

Washington: Bellis Fair Mall (Bellingham store, see above)

Minnesota: Apache Mall (see update above, GGP will close Sears store by 2014)

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center (see update above, GGP closing store)

Business/Economics, Idaho

“circumstances beyond our control…changing demographics…declining sales” Ripple effect layoffs! ObamaCare keeps on cutting! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 20 January 2016

January 21, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: Sears Holdings confirmed that the Prattville Kmart will shutdown in April, 70 jobs lost.

California: What did you get when you got laid off? It’s been revealed that Newark based StemCells Incorporated gave its recently ‘resigned’ CEO a $1-million USD severance package! Pier 1 Imports shutting down their El Cerrito Plaza store by the end of February. Local news reports say a retailer from Japan will move into the vacated Pier 1 location.

Florida: Orlando based Total Sleep Management now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Administrators blame ObamaCare: “The sleep industry ran into trouble around 2013. Pre-authorizations became a requirement for most private insurers. We lost about 40% of our revenue.”

Georgia: Sears Holdings confirmed that the Dublin Kmart will shutdown in April, 71 jobs lost.

Hawaii: Simply Organized shutting down their Ewa Beach store in February.

Idaho: More proof poverty is skyrocketing in The Gem State; the only form of housing assistance comes from federally funded Section 8 and private donations (unlike most densely populated states that have a state level tax payer funded match to the federal Section 8 funding). Housing assistance is managed by Idaho Housing and Finance (IHFA, “a self-supporting corporation”) and starting in 2011 was forced by increasing homelessness in Idaho to start a new charity fund raising operation called Home Partnership Foundation-Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge. In 2015 they raised $317-thousand USD to supplement what they already have to work with. Almost half of that has just been given to 32 non-profit organizations through out the state. It’s been revealed by the state Office of Performance Evaluations that Psychosocial Rehabilitation Counselor (aka PSR or Psycho Social Rehabilitation workers) jacked up costs to Idaho Medicaid nine times over a ten years period. In 2001 PSR costs were $8-million USD, by 2012 costs hit $76-million! In 2013 the state tried to counter by pushing for more “managed” inpatient care, however that is backfiring because many providers are confused by the regulations which are causing problems with care.

Illinois: Baker Mondelez told 277 Chicago workers they will become unemployed starting in March, as part of the company’s plan to move to Mexico! Also in Chicago, the Blue Buddha Boutique shutting down after 13 years because the owner’s doctor told her to reduce her “stress levels”. You mean Buddha, meditation and the stress of running a business don’t jive?

Indiana: The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art laid off five people due to crashing revenues. Marsh shutting down their Bloomington grocery store because it’s not worth it to renew the lease.

Iowa: In Ames, after 30 years restaurant Valentino’s shutdown, the owners saying “Recent circumstances beyond our control, coupled with changing demographics in our current location and declining sales made this very difficult decision necessary.”

Louisiana: Noranda shutting down its alumina factory in Gramercy, blaming a bauxite tax imposed by the government of Jamaica, and crashing sales, 444 jobs lost over the next two months! Texas based National Oilwell Varco shutting down its Houma ops, 80 jobs lost in March.

Maine: (Ripple Effect layoffs) Chipotle Mexican Grill killing off Hutamaki. The paper product maker said it had to layoff 30 employees due to crashing packaging orders from the troubled chain restaurant.

Maryland: After 18 years restaurant Donna’s shutting down by the end of the month. The owners admitted they were losing money and they could not renew the lease.

Michigan: Oregon based expensive clothier Pendleton Woolen Mills shutting down three stores in The Wolverine State blaming lack of “sales and profitability”!

Missouri: (Ripple Effect Layoffs) In Lamar, the 117 years old Thorco Industries announced it will layoff 93 people starting in Spring. The company makes point of sales (aka point of purchase or POP) displays for retailers. Administrators blamed the layoffs on “…retail industry changes, including the growth of e-commerce and the opening of fewer brick-and-mortar stores, has resulted in a continued decline in demand for store fixtures, such as the wire-based merchandising displays and accessories…”

Nebraska: Food giant ConAgra eliminating more jobs due to an expected drop in sales. News reports say several hundreds of ConAgra employees in Omaha will lose there jobs to cheaper contractors as ConAgra attempts to cut operating costs! The reports are based on a video leaked last week, but what’s really interesting is that ConAgra execs are also killing 40 sales positions (maybe that’s why they expect sales to go down?).

New Mexico: In Los Lunas, Mitt Romney wunderkind Staples shutting down in February, 22 jobs lost.

New York: Qatar based news source Al Jazeera made it official and issued a shutdown WARN for its NYC ops, 197 jobs lost by the end of April! Internet fantasy sports site FanFuel revealed they’ve begun laying off employees, no numbers given. It’s connected to legal threats challenging FanDuel’s claim that it’s not a gambling site. The movie theater Ziegfeld Theater is shutting down after 47 years to be re-purposed as ‘a high-end event center’ for corporate elites. Months after announcing plans to hire 125 people, Dial America now shutting down its 28 years old Amherst call center, 120 jobs lost by the beginning of March! Administrators blamed it on a major client deciding to do business with a foreign call center operator! Sears Holdings confirms the Staten Island Mall Sears Auto Center will shutdown in February, 20 jobs lost. After laying off 20 employees in October, Watertown’s New York Air Brake eliminating another 30 jobs blaming declining sales to the railroad industry. This is a prime example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs; New York Air Brake’s job losses caused by railroad industry which in turn is losing jobs caused by the oil and coal industries which in turn are losing jobs due to crashing commodity prices.

North Carolina: Ohio based call center operator Convergys issued a layoff WARN for its Greenville center, 163 jobs lost by April due to the loss of a contract.

Oklahoma: Oil company Devon Energy warned more “…layoffs will be a necessary part of the company’s near-term cost-management efforts. The company has not determined the extent of the reduction but expects the majority of layoffs to occur by the end of the first quarter.”

Pennsylvania: Lehigh Valley Health Network warning that it must shutdown five offices across two counties! LVHN rep Brian Downs said they didn’t know when the shutdowns would take place, or how many people will lose their jobs, but warned “This is health care today. This is an ongoing thing.”

Texas: (Ripple Effect Layoffs) In Longview, after already laying off employees in 2015, US Steel now says it might shutdown its Lone Star Tubular Operations starting in March, 677 remaining jobs threatened by the crashing oil industry! (Ripple Effect Layoffs) Raymondville city leaders are warning of citywide layoffs due to the shutdown of the local Walmart store. Last year the Willacy County Correctional Center shutdown, which generated money for the city through water sales, now the Walmart is the only major source of revenue for the city and it’s shutting down!

Utah: Sears Holdings confirmed that the 35 years old Richfield Kmart will shutdown in April, 63 jobs lost.

Virginia: Richmond’s four years old Carytown Dixie Donuts shutting down by the end of the month. In Pulaski, Food Lion shutting down its Memorial Drive grocery store by February because it’s not worth it to renew the lease.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

Business/Economics, Idaho

Massive ObamaCare job destruction! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 19 January 2016

January 20, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: Molded Fiber Glass Manufacturing laid off 39 people from its Opp factory, blaming a delay in new tooling and the U.S. Congress for delaying a renewable energy tax credit. Sears Holdings shutting down the Dothan Kmart on the south side of Ross Clark Circle, 56 jobs lost in March.

California: Yet more tech layoffs as Cupertino based Apple laid off 1-hundred people from its iAd ops! Administrators claim they will create new jobs later on. In Bakersfield, Guarantee Shoe Center is blaming the crashing oil industry for a 20% drop in sales. The shoe store owners said most of their customers were oil workers, many of whom have lost their jobs. After 65 years privately funded Pinecrest Schools shutting down all their San Fernando Valley campuses (Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Canyon Country and Simi Valley) at the end of this school year! Administrators blame increased operating costs and increased competition from publicly funded charter schools. More proof the internet is not recession resistant, reports that Sunnyvale based Yahoo is about to layoff 25% of its employees (about 2-thousand 7-hundred)!

Colorado: Louisville based non-profit cable TV research company CableLabs laid off 30 people, in order “to ensure that CableLabs can rapidly build and sustain a significant innovation pipeline for the industry”. Albertsons-Safeway shutting down their Denver bakery, 95 jobs lost by the end of February.

Florida: In Orlando, Nephron Pharmaceuticals issued a mass layoff WARN, 250 people becoming unemployed by April! (is it because Jeb Bush made a campaign stop there?)

Idaho: Privately owned tourist attraction railroad company Thunder Mountain Line shutdown, without warning or explanation. Trader Joe’s is recalling cashews sold in Boise (as well as in 31 other locations across the U.S.). The nuts are suspected of being contaminated with salmonella. Mental healthcare provider Optum has revealed it’s sitting on $5-million USD in unspent Idaho Medicaid funding! This is significant because Optum’s parent company United Health claims it lost $1-billion in 2015 (see Minnesota below)!

Illinois: What automotive industry recovery? Quincy based Titan Tire says it’s forced to eliminate more jobs, for 2016 they’re looking at laying off 130 people in Ohio and 150 in Europe! And that’s just for the first quarter of 2016.

Indiana: In Fort Wayne, British empire based U.S. tax-sucker BAE eliminating at least 110 jobs by the end of the year!

Louisiana: Switzerland based oil driller Noble laying off as many as 120 people who work on its Galliano facility!

Michigan: In Bloomfield Hills, after more than 40 years Hogan’s restaurant shutting down at the end of the month. The owner admitted his old golf themed eatery can’t compete with the new “really trendy” restaurants. In Lansing, God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ 150 years old (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Trinity Lutheran School from shutting down. Parents criticized the church leaders saying they never considered outside sources of funding and the decision to shutdown came without warning.

Minnesota: Evil people and lazy local news media caused a charity horse rescue op to shutdown. Despite a sheriff’s department investigation which cleared the charity of all of the false accusations brought against it, Hightail Horse Ranch and Rescue is now blaming “overwhelming negative publicity” for halting donations and stopping volunteers needed to run the center. Minnetonka based United Health blames ObamaCare for causing it to lose $1-billion USD, massive job cuts coming! United Health is considering getting the hell outta the Affordable Care Act exchange system!

Missouri: Another Saint Louis restaurant shutting down, Mile 277, and like others they’re blaming the A-hole re-development projects and greedy landlords: “The development of other venues such as Ballpark Village along with numerous lease terms has significantly impacted the operations of Mile 277. The combination of these factors has resulted in significant losses of revenue and profits. Mile 277 cannot continue to sustain these losses.”

New Jersey: New Brunswick based Johnson & Johnson announced it is eliminating 3-thousand medical device jobs over the next two years! ObamaCare taxes, the bad economy, and plans to take over medical device maker rivals are forcing them to cut $1-billion USD in costs!

New York: In Queens, after 25 years The Comic Den shutting down due to “new generation of readers” opting for comics on the internet. Jeweler to the elites Tiffany’s announced its holiday sales dropped enough to warrant layoffs. Administrators have yet to reveal how many employees will be let go. Too Big to Jail Morgan Stanley announced it will join the exodus from The Empire State (and other high cots areas) by moving jobs to “lower cost centers” around the world, potentially affecting thousands of jobs!

Ohio: In Youngstown, the 106 years old Masonic Temple on Wick Avenue shutting down by the end of June. The members say the large building has become too expensive to heat during winter. The Upper Valley Mall losing two more stores, Cardboard Heroes shutdown without warning and Lens Crafters shutting down this weekend!

South Carolina: Barnwell County’s only hospital shutdown! The 140 employees of Southern Palmetto Hospital said they were notified in an emergency meeting on Tuesday that they were losing their jobs on Thursday, this week! The emergency meeting was called by the Director of Nursing, local news says hospital administrators refuse to talk to them and county administrators swear they know nothing about it.

Washington DC: Once touted by politicians like Obama, the 10 years old Five Guys Burgers and Fries joint on Wisconsin Avenue shutting down next week. There’s no explanation, just a note taped to the door.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

18 January 2016: “Iconic places are going out of business, and nobody cares.”

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

Business/Economics

Sears Kmart update 18 January 2016: Four more

January 19, 2016 Hutchins AAron

14 January 2016: News media grossly downplays massive shutdowns!

Here’s the updated list (new shutdowns in bold) of U.S. store closings that I’ve been compiling since the end of 2011:

Alabama: Florence Kmart in March, more than 1-hundred jobs lost! A local news report said the employees knew nothing about it and were shocked to hear it from the news media! Dothan Kmart (south side of Ross Clark Circle) shutting down in March, 56 jobs lost. Gadsden Kmart (50 jobs lost), Mobile Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Auburn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Anniston Kmart (no word yet on how many jobs lost), Birmingham Eastwood Kmart (70 jobs lost), Decatur Mall Sears (91 jobs lost), Fort Payne Kmart, Northport Kmart (68 jobs lost), Dothan Sears (68 jobs lost), Huntsville Kmart (73 jobs lost), Sears Store and Auto Center at the Bel Air Mall in Mobile (more than 100 jobs lost).

Delaware: Dover Kmart (at least 72 jobs lost, some reports said 100), Seaford Sears (30 jobs lost), Claymont Kmart (87 jobs lost).

Georgia: Reports that the Milledgeville and Rome Kmarts shutting down by mid-April, no word on how many jobs lost. Mount Berry Square Mall Sears and Auto Center shutting down in March, 86 jobs lost. Macon Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Buford Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Douglasville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Atlanta Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Columbus Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jonesboro Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Cartersville Kmart (74 jobs lost), Hiram Kmart (53 jobs lost), Marietta-East Cobb Kmart, Warner Robins Kmart (77 jobs lost), Coweta County Kmart distribution center (164 jobs lost), one of the last two North Augusta Kmart to be torn down by new property owner from Canada, Sears Holdings denies the Kmart will shutdown.

Guam: Sears Hometown Store.

Idaho: Boise Kmart on Fairview shutting down by mid-March, 56 jobs lost. Pocatello Kmart shutting down by April, 65 jobs lost. Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost), Rexburg Kmart (63 jobs lost), Chubbuck Pine Ridge Mall Sears shutdown by the end of October/beginning of November 2014 (the remaining 28 jobs lost).

Illinois: Canton Kmart shutting down in April, 38 jobs lost. Alton Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Melrose Park Sears parts and repair center (50 jobs lost), Zion Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Lawn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), McHenry Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Peru Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lombard Sears/Great Indoors (at least 40 jobs lost), Fairview Heights Kmart (81 jobs lost), Freeport Kmart (45 jobs lost), Pontiac Kmart (more than 47 jobs lost), Homer Glen Kmart (82 jobs lost), Streator Kmart (45 jobs lost), Lombard Kmart (70 jobs lost), Naperville Kmart (98 jobs lost), Calumet Sears (164 jobs lost), two Sears stores in Grand Crossing area of Chicago (247 jobs lost!), Mount Vernon Sears (68 jobs lost), Moline Sears (at least 60 jobs lost), Homewood Kmart (185 jobs lost), Belvidere Kmart (91 jobs lost?) revealed is now a perpetual closing sale Kmart At A Discount store, Champaign’s Market Place Mall Sears (56 jobs lost), Sterling Kmart (60 jobs lost), Montgomery Kmart (81 jobs lost), Mattoon Sears (more than 40 jobs lost), Chicago Sears on North State Street (160 jobs lost), Chicago Sears Craftsman Experience store, Galesburg Sears (46 jobs lost), White Lake Township Kmart (42 jobs lost), Orland Park Sears Appliance, Collinsville Kmart (84 jobs lost), Crystal Lake Kmart (at least 77 jobs lost), Danville Sears store & Auto Center (63 jobs lost), Forsyth Sears store & Auto Center (45 jobs lost), Peoria Kmart (73 jobs lost), Forest Park Kmart (107 jobs lost), Chicago Sears on North and Harlem avenues, supposedly it’s being replaced (most likely at taxpayer expense) with a new building and it will become a Sears-Mariano’s store, Bloomington Kmart (79 jobs lost), Hoffman Estates Headquarters 100 jobs eliminated, another 15 corporate jobs eliminated elsewhere, Chicago-Wicker Park Kmart (106 jobs lost), abandoned Market Place Mall Sears location to be occupied by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream. 58 Chicago area stores up for lease or sale. North Mayfair Kmart (99 jobs lost), Chicago Kmart at 5033 North Elston Avenue (99 jobs lost). By the way, Illinois elected officials gave Sears Holdings/Hoffman Estates a $150 million USD tax break to keep their headquarters in the state. The tax break was not tied to any promise not to close stores.

Louisiana: Slidell Sears (77 job lost), Gretna Kmart (94 jobs lost), Metairie Kmart secretly sold off, no word if it will be shutdown, Laplace Sears Hometown Store.

Maine: Lewiston Sears (60 to 70 jobs lost), Presque Isle Aroostook Centre Mall Sears (63 jobs lost), Aroostook Centre Mall Sears Auto Center leased out to VIP Tires & Service.

Minnesota: Dundas Kmart by April, 32 jobs lost. Thunderbird Mall Kmart shutting down in April, 48 jobs lost. Willmar Kmart, Duluth Kmart, New Hope Kmart, White Bear Lake Kmart, Bemidji Kmart, Monticello Kmart, GGP owned Sears Auto Center in the Apache Mall closed (10 jobs lost), the entire Sears store in the Apache Mall being sold off, Fergus Falls Kmart (40 jobs lost), Fergus Falls Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Alexandria Kmart (46 jobs lost), Grand Rapids Kmart (61 jobs lost), Seritage is selling off three Sears Auto Centers in Minnetonka, Brooklyn Center and Saint Paul, Marshall Kmart (57 jobs lost), Oakdale Kmart (77 hourly wage employees losing their jobs, unknown how many salaried employees will become unemployed), Winona Kmart (67 jobs lost), Minneapolis city officials trying to shutdown profit making Nicollet Avenue Kmart, to make way for a new road. Anoka Kmart (47 jobs lost), Blaine Kmart (60 jobs lost), Burnsville Kmart (62 jobs lost), Waite Park Kmart (57 jobs lost), Northeast Minneapolis Sears Hometown & Outlet store now for sale, Coon Rapids Sears Hometown & Outlet store now for sale.

Nebraska: Grand Island Kmart (55 jobs lost), Omaha Kmart near West Maple Road (50 jobs lost).

Nevada: Sparks Kmart distribution center (100 jobs lost).

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials, Portsmouth Kmart (30 jobs lost), Claremont Kmart (59 jobs lost).

New Mexico: Las Cruces Kmart (58 jobs lost), Albuquerque Kmart on Central SW (80 jobs lost), Rio Rancho Kmart (59 jobs lost).

New York: Lindenhurst Sears Hardware, North Babylon Sears Hardware, Hauppauge Sears Hardware, Depew (Lancaster?) Kmart (68 jobs lost), Colonie Kmart (72 jobs lost), Fulton Kmart (51 jobs lost), Clifton Park Kmart (74 jobs lost) now revealed to be turned into a Town Center with more than 200 apartments at an estimated cost of $50-million, Latham Kmart (61 jobs lost), East Greenbush-Rensselaer Kmart (70 jobs lost), Tonawanda Sears Appliance and Hardware, Bronx Sears (91 jobs lost), BBN reader reported that the Ithaca Sears and Auto Center shutdown and one month later it’s been officially confirmed (at least 37 jobs lost), DeWitt Kmart (92 jobs lost), Auburn Sears (51 jobs lost), Massena Sears and Auto Center (51 jobs lost), Staten Island Mall Sears leased out to Ireland’s Primark, Bay Shore Sears and Sears Auto Center (144 jobs lost), New Hartford Sears & Auto Center (109 jobs lost), Lancaster Kmart sold for $1.7-million to Dave’s Christmas Wonderland. Herkimer Sears Hometown, Saranac Lake Sears Hometown the ‘independent’ co-owners said Sears Holdings forced them to shutdown. Melville Appliance Repair Division (31 jobs lost).

North Dakota: Jamestown Kmart (45 jobs lost), Dickinson Kmart (41 jobs lost, despite a “Now Hiring” sign on the front of the store).

Ohio: Zanesville Kmart shutting down mid-April, 47 jobs lost. Steubenville Kmart shutting down by April, 65 jobs lost. Boardman Kmart by April, 81 jobs lost. Chagrin Falls Kmart, Springfield Kmart, two Toledo Kmarts, Medina Kmart, Columbus Kmart, Columbus Sears/Great Indoors, Zanesville Sears (67 jobs lost), Trotwood Kmart (71 jobs lost), Austintown Sears auto parts and service on Interstate Boulevard, London Kmart (no word on number of jobs lost), Trotwood Sears (67 jobs lost), Westlake Kmart/Sears (at least 57 jobs lost), Xenia Kmart (at least 57 jobs lost), Norwalk Kmart (52 jobs lost), Blue Ash Kmart (77 jobs lost), Northwood Sears at Woodville Mall (36 jobs lost), Conneaut Kmart (43 jobs lost), Anderson Township Kmart (71 jobs lost), Brooklyn Kmart (200 jobs lost), Columbus Lockbourne Industrial Parkway Sears distribution center (200 jobs lost), also in Columbus, Sears Product Rebuild-Call Center (112 jobs lost), Marion Sears Auto Center (at least nine jobs lost), Springfield Kmart #3767 (68 jobs lost), Fairborn Kmart (66 jobs lost), Solon Sears & Auto Center (at least 53 jobs lost), Tiffin Sears Hometown Store. Also, Van Wert Sears franchise bought out by Kirk Berryman, owner of Computer & Networking Technologies (CNT), who plans on moving the store to a new location. Fairlawn Sears Appliance & Hardware, Macedonia Sears Appliance & Hardware, Lorain Sears Appliance & Hardware, Elyria Sears Appliance & Hardware, North Olmsted Sears Appliance & Hardware, Sheffield Village Sears Appliance & Hardware, Akron Sears Appliance & Hardware.

Puerto Rico: Vega Baja Kmart (206 jobs lost).

South Dakota: The Pierre Kmart shutting down by the end of March, 45 jobs lost. The Michell Kmart shutting down in April, 52 jobs lost. Spearfish Kmart (51 jobs lost), Sturgis Kmart (57 jobs lost).

Tennessee: A Memphis Sears and Auto Center (on Poplar Avenue) shutting down in April, 109 jobs lost! Clarksville Kmart shutting down in April, 68 jobs lost. Cleveland Kmart shutting down by mid-March, 67 jobs lost. Antioch Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Cleveland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Ridge Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Morristown Sears (about 70 jobs lost), Clinton South Kmart, Franklin Cool Springs Galleria Sears (92 jobs lost), Memphis Hickory Ridge mall Sears (job loss data not revealed), 48 years old Nashville Kmart on Nolensville Pike to close by January 2014 (57 jobs lost), Franklin Kmart (33 jobs lost), Dickson Kmart (65 jobs lost), talks in progress to end lease for Bellevue (Nashville) Center Mall Sears, Nashville Bellevue Center Sears & Auto Center (at least 44 jobs lost).

Utah: North Logan Kmart shutting down by April, 58 jobs lost. Murray Sears (local news media in Utah never reported the closure, but they reported that the building was demolished), Orem Kmart (no details reported), Woods Cross Kmart (54 jobs lost), Provo Kmart demolished in anticipation of yet another AtHome furniture store.

Vermont: The Bennington Sears Hometown Store shutdown. Rutland Sears store & Auto Center (65 jobs lost), South Burlington Kmart (66 jobs lost).

West Virginia: Oak Hill Kmart (59 jobs lost), Morgantown Kmart (100 jobs lost), Bluefield Sears store & Auto Center (64 jobs lost).

On top of that, Sears Holdings sold stores to General Growth Properties (GGP), of which it has been reported that most of those stores will be closed.

Here’s the list of 11 Sears stores now owned by GGP:

Iowa: Coral Ridge Mall (it’s official the Sears is closing, see above), and Mall of the Bluffs

Texas: The Woodlands Mall (this does not involve the two repair centers being closed by Sears)

Florida: West Oaks Mall

Oklahoma: Quail Springs Mall (it’s official, the Sears closed, see above)

Hawaii: Ala Moana Center (closed, see above)

Washington: Bellis Fair Mall (Bellingham store, see above)

Minnesota: Apache Mall (see update above, GGP will close Sears store by 2014)

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center (see update above, GGP closing store)

Business/Economics, Idaho

“Iconic places are going out of business, and nobody cares.” Goodwill ramps up shutdowns! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 18 January 2016

January 19, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: Sears Holdings shutting down the Florence Kmart in March, more than 1-hundred jobs lost! A local news report said the employees knew nothing about it and were shocked to hear it from the news!

Arkansas: Good Food by Ferneau shutting down because the owner-chef is taking a job working for somebody else.

California: In San Francisco, the Gangway bar shutdown due to ignoramus owner failing to pay his employees at least minimum wage. In California the so called Tip Credit does not apply, food service workers must be paid minimum wage even though they’re paid tips by customers. According to the lawsuit the owner, who’s lived in California for decades, thought the Tip Credit rule was valid in California (I knew about that rule back in the 1980s, how can people who’ve lived in California longer than me be so stupid regarding The Golden State’s wage laws?). In Anaheim Hills, after at least 30 years popular Foxfire An American Chophouse shutting down at the start of February, to make room for a shopping plaza. In Los Altos, Main Street Cafe shutting down by the end of the month, apparently to eventually be replaced with yet another restaurant “concept”.

Connecticut: In Greenwich, after a little more than 12 years Graham’s Toys shutdown due to the greedy landlord: “The rents are not sustainable. The amount of business we’ve done is respectable, but it’s just not sustainable for this market.”-Shelly Steinberg, owner

Idaho: Another Gem State Kmart shutting down, this time the Boise Kmart on Fairview shutting down by mid-March, 56 jobs lost. A sure sign that healthcare costs are going up, the state Department of Health and Welfare is requesting a $26.3-million USD budget increase! Administrators are now saying the previous 3.9% increase is not enough to fund the new mandate (Primary Care Access Program) to cover the 78-thousand Idahoans who fall into the Right to Work (you over) ObamaCare gap!

Illinois: In Orland Park, Palos Community Hospital shutting down their Palos Health & Fitness center in May. In a round-a-bout way administrators said ObamaCare was forcing them to “prioritize” their services.

Kansas: In Wichita, after 105 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) Head’s Shoes shutdown. Local news said the owners aren’t commenting as to why.

Maryland: Rockville based charity thrift store/’job training center’ Goodwill shutdown 26 stores and donation centers in Toronto, Canada, apparently with no warning! The Ontario Great Lakes Goodwill regional office claims the shutdowns are part of their plan to remain “financially very strong and on a path of growth and prosperity.” In other words they’re preparing for the economy to get worse!

Michigan: New York based clothier Aeropostale shutting down their Mall of Monroe store by the end of the month. Aeropostale has shutdown hundreds of stores since 2014 and recently said they will eliminate 1-hundred corporate level jobs.

Missouri: In Saint Louis, after almost 20 years Harry’s Bar & Restaurant shutting down by the end of the month. It’s starting to sound like city re-development projects are killing off local businesses: “It’s the economy, the highway closing, Ballpark Village. Downtown is just a dead area right now….nobody is talking about it. Iconic places are going out of business, and nobody cares. Ballpark Village was the nail in the coffin. It shut down Washington Avenue and took 70% of our business.”-Tim Pieri, co-owner

New York: In Saugerties the McDonald’s junk food joint on 8 Manor Lane shutting down by the end of the month, the owner saying “It’s a business decisions…”, revealing that even when the restaurant was “making money” it was considered “under-performing”!

Ohio: With no warning Columbus based chain restaurant Max & Erma’s shutdown 13 operations in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, hundreds now jobless! Corporate administrators said they have to “streamline” operations due to the economy. Overwhelmingly employees say they’re shocked that their employer could shutdown overnight, (I’ve been there experienced that several times, so welcome to reality. Now try living with so many of your peers not believing that your former employer could lay you off with no warning, your employed peers always think you did something wrong! It’s amazing what the working class takes for granted, oh the power of false belief.).

Pennsylvania: After more than three years Marty’s Market shutdown without warning, the owners saying only “We have had to make the extremely difficult decision to close…”

Rhode Island: More trouble for video games. A state investigation into former Major League Baseball player Curt Schilling’s video game company 38 Studios could result in a criminal case. 38 Studios went mysteriously bankrupt and shutdown a few months after releasing it’s only video game (the game was considered a success and sold well). The problem is that 38 Studios was partially funded with millions in state taxpayer loans, which were never paid back.

Virginia: France based nuclear power plant operator Areva laid off 50 people in Lynchburg, and another 40 at nuclear operations around the U.S. Local news reports say since 2014 Areva has eliminated 3-hundred jobs in Luynchburg.

West Virginia: After announcing that it had suffered a 13% drop in revenue in 2015, Florida based railroad company CSX announced it will shutdown its Huntington operations, 121 jobs affected! The work will be spread out among other CSX depots.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

17 January 2016: “we have nothing left…financially, emotionally or physically.”

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

Business/Economics, Idaho

“we have nothing left…financially, emotionally or physically.” Consumer spending falls in 2015! Execs get bonuses for killing jobs! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 17 January 2016

January 18, 2016 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Jamaica, a member country of the West Indies Federation, is reporting that the unAmerican corporate America hospitality industry will hire 3-thousand Jamaicans in 2016, that’s a 50% increase from 2015! The majority of Jamaicans are working in the U.S. states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan.

Arkansas: Bentonville based economic canary in the coal mine Walmart began shutting down 154 U.S. stores on 17 January 2016, at least 10-thousand U.S. jobs lost! (here’s the list)

California: Cupertino based Apple is hurting for cash so much that it will now charge you to listen to ad plastered iTunes Radio in the U.S. Here’s a fine example of why it’s not worth it to do business in The Golden State: The city of Palo Alto is demanding the family owners of Buena Vista mobile home park pay an $8-million USD fine for wanting to shutdown their money losing operation: “The city says the money is needed so that the tenants can get expensive alternative housing in the area; in effect, the city is holding the Jissers uniquely responsible for solving the city’s severe housing affordability problem. That’s not just wrong, it’s unconstitutional. …..The city’s motion to dismiss doesn’t deny that the city is commanding a payment of $8 million…It just says the case shouldn’t be heard by a judge….. -Larry Salzman, Pacific Legal Foundation

Hawaii: Kahului Trucking & Storage laying off drivers as a result of the sudden shutdown of The Aloha State’s last sugar farm.

Idaho: A new study by the United Way shows 37% of Idahoans are in poverty and employed! Specifically, 37% of Idahoans are now classified as working poor, or Asset Limited-Income Constrained-Employed (aka ALICE). The United Way says even with the piddly-ass social services Idahoans cannot afford to buy basic necessities! And for more proof Right to Work only Works You Over keep reading.Governor Butch Otter wants a third mental health crisis center built in The Gem State. Between 2014-15 eastern and northern Idaho got one each, and now Otter wants one in southern Idaho. ‘Lawmakers’ and even local sheriffs praise the crisis centers but don’t give examples of why they’re so good. The centers are meant to temporarily house people having mental health or drug abuse problems, instead of putting them in county jails. The fact that sheriffs are praising them, and the governor wants to spend another $1.72-million building another one, indicates a huge need, that a lot of Idahoans are having trouble dealing with their Right to Work (you over) circumstances, yet Right to Work officials don’t want to admit it. The city owned utility Idaho Falls Power is about to take over part of Rocky Mountain Power’s turf. If the state Public Utilities Commission approves Rocky Mountain Power will transfer poles, conductors and conduits around the Fielding Cemetery property to the control of taxpayers of the city of Idaho Falls, for the price of $50-thousand USD. Even God couldn’t stop a Christian student from ripping off the Mormon Brigham Young University-Idaho of $6-thousand 2-hundred, using a university credit card. Of course that ‘christian’ student wasn’t very smart because you can trace credit card transactions, and that’s how he got caught.

Kentucky: ISO copper wire maker Belden shutting down their factory in Monticello, 260 jobs being lost to the state of Indiana and to the country of Mexico, between now and the beginning of next year!

Louisiana: In Opelousas, dancehall Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki shutdown after 69 years. The property is now for sale. The family owners blame young people and today’s greedy spoiled bands: “They don’t look at the overhead you have, the utilities and things like that. They tell me, ‘We’ll take the door.’ They’ll start off charging at $10, then $15 and $20. By midnight, they’ll have a packed house. They’ll put the money in their pockets and go home. Then you have all the stress of what the night crowd destroyed and what you have to fix. It got to where we weren’t hardly making any more money.”

Missouri: Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood shutting down their 30 years old downtown Saint Louis location, claiming it will help them focus on “franchise expansion”.

Montana: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records reveal that five executives of Stillwater Mining got paid the equivalent of millions of dollars in bonuses less than five months after they eliminated 120 jobs! The bonuses were paid in the form of stocks in the company. Company administrators refused to comment when questioned by local news media.

New Hampshire: In Bath, The Brick Store (one of the oldest general stores in the U.S.) shutting down “due to changes in the economy”. The owners, Mike and Nancy Lusby, added “We did our best, but we have exhausted our resources, and lost Mike’s pension. We have done everything we can for 24 years to save the store, but we have nothing left to give … financially, emotionally or physically.”

New Jersey: God refuses to stop the shutdown of his Mother Teresa Catholic School, in June. Enrollment is down below 1-hundred students. For more proof the economy has not recovered, a major shipping company, which services retailers like Disney Store and Amazon.com, Elizabeth based EZ Worldwide Express is now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to crashing shipment orders! The company even invested $12-million USD into new trucks, but now the 7-hundred employees are threatened with unemployment! With the massive retail store shutdowns now taking place across the U.S. you can expect even more shipping companies to go bust.

Ohio: Researchers at Ohio State University have proven that an ‘Amazon Tax’ killed internet holiday sales in 2015. They determined that sales on Amazon.com dropped an average of 8.3% in states that implemented taxes on internet purchases. The Washington Post article said sales declines increased as the price of the item went up: “The Amazon Tax had an especially chilling effect on big-ticket purchases that totaled more than $250, the study found. On these transactions, Amazon sales declined 11.4 percent once the tax was put in place.” U.S. Department of Energy awarded a contract potentially valued at $139.7-million USD to a company in Idaho, to provide infrastructure support services at the radioactive Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, in Piketon. Interestingly the Idaho Falls, Idaho, based company is called Portsmouth Mission Alliance. In Toledo, Laffs comedy club shutdown just short of the two year mark. The club’s operations manager said “…the turnout was not quite where we needed it to be.”

Pennsylvania: In Moosic, controversial adult outdoor movie theater Oak Hill Drive-In shutdown because they couldn’t afford to upgrade to digital.

Tennessee: Jerky maker Oberto shutting down its two years old Nashville meat factory despite promising to create 310 jobs and getting almost $2-million in taxpayer funds and grants (not tax breaks, outright cash!). State ‘lawmakers’ swear they’ll go after the jerky maker for a refund of the tax funding. The Nashville factory never got above 82 employees, despite Oberto’s promise. See more below in -Washington-. Here’s what Karl Dean, the now former mayor of Nashville, said back in 2012: “Oberto’s decision to locate a plant in Nashville speaks to the vitality of our city and the talent of our workforce. I’m especially pleased that Oberto will be bringing an existing facility back to life. Filling vacant buildings in and around our urban core is important to the strength and future of our city.”

Washington: Kent based mass produced jerky maker Oberto announced it will shutdown its two years old meat factory in Tennessee (well, the factory is two years old, I don’t know about the meat) and sell-off a meat factory in Oregon! The suck-ass economy is forcing Oberto to consolidate jerky treat making to its Washington ops.

Washington DC: Wonder what’s up with all the massive retail store shutdowns? The Department of Commerce released consumer spending numbers for 2015 and overall spending fell from 2014, and is on its way to 2008-09 levels! Even 2015 holiday sales flatlined! Of course the self exalted ‘expert’ analysts on TV still claim that consumers are just “holding onto their money”. I can tell you why I didn’t spend any money in 2015 on gifts or ‘extras’, same reason as the prior two years I don’t have any extra money to spend, I’m actually borrowing money to pay utilities gottdamn it!

Wisconsin: Retail packaging company Sealed Air shutting down their Mount Pleasant office, 74 jobs lost. It’s part of their plans, announced back in 2014, to move 3-hundred jobs out of The Badger State!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

16 January 2016: Wells Fargo home foreclosures funding bad oil industry debts?

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

U.S.

Iran to save Boeing!

January 16, 2016 Hutchins AAron

16 January 2016 (03:09 UTC-07 Tango 01)/26 Dey 1394/05 Rabi’a’-Thani 1437/07 Ding-Chou (12th month) 4713

Proving U.S. sanctions are a failure, the Obama regime is allowing the flailing airliner maker Boeing to sell its aircraft to Iran.

Iran’s civil aviation industry is looking to buy 5-hundred new aircraft and all the parts they can handle! Apparently Iran is willing to spend $50-billion USD doing so.

The recent nuclear deal allows countries to sell to Iran civilian aircraft and parts.

Older Iranian Boeing 737-200

In August 2015, Reuters reported that Iran was willing to buy as many as 90 new European and U.S. made airliners per year! Then in November 2015, Iranian news media reported that Boeing secretly signed a deal selling Iran 13 Boeing 737-400 airliners!

Iran Air’s aging Boeing 747

China & Iran deal in Rial & Yuan, only?

Iran to push oil to $10 per barrel!

News you didn't know mattered