Tag Archives: closings

Business/Economics

Sears & Kmart closing update, 13 April 2015: More proof Sears Holdings is making money by killing jobs!

I’ve written about this in the past, and it’s happened again, Eddie Lampert’s Sears Holdings is yet again making money, specifically because they’ve killed thousands of jobs!

Lampert revealed that he is transferring ten Sears stores to mall operator Simon Properties, and Sears Holdings will make $114-million USD as a result of the deal worth $228-million!

Investors also liked the news and sent Sears Holdings’ stock prices up 2%.

Less than two weeks ago Lampert sold an additional 12 stores to General Growth Properties (GGP).  The deal reportedly was worth $330-million!

Sears Holdings also plans to make money by ‘reverse’ leasing their stores.

As well, Eddie Lampert revealed his vulture capitalist holding company generated $2.6-billion in cash during 2014, as a result of shutting down 234 Sears and Kmart stores and eliminating thousands of jobs!

According to the New York Post, in 2005 there were 3,845 Sears and Kmart stores in the U.S.  As of January 2015 there were only 1,725!

New York, Oregon & Pennsylvania losing yet more stores! 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

More Economic Decline: Major announcement confirming shutdown of east Idaho’s only Postal Processing Center?

11 April 2015 (16:42 UTC-07 Tango 01)/22 Farvardin 1394/21 Jumada t-Tania 1436/23 Geng Chen 4713

In the past week employees at the doomed Gateway Processing Center in Pocatello, Idaho, were given news confirming the pending shutdown.

As of 17 April 2015 all remaining Mail Handlers will become unemployed, with no severance (told to apply for unemployment).  All parcel mail (packages) are supposedly to be shipped down to Salt Lake City for processing after that date.

Salt Lake Postal District administrators decided to save 16 Gateway Clerk jobs (on top of the original 13), but only temporarily.  The Salt Lake Letter Processing Center is, admittedly, unable to handle all of east Idaho’s letter mail, so, two of Gateway’s letter sorting machines will remain operational for at least six more months (apparently until Salt Lake gets another machine of their own).

This is more proof of how ineffectual your local ‘elected’ officials are.

East Idaho’s Gateway Processing Center is one of 82, across the United States, that are being shutdown before summer.

Zero Hour approaches fast for east Idaho’s only Postal Processing Center! 

Business/Economics

Walgreens to slam 200 U.S. stores after take over of British empire drug pushers!

09 April 2015 (15:07 UTC-07 Tango 01)/20 Farvardin 1394/19 Jumada t-Tania 1436/21 Geng Chen 4713

“These American markets are ready for more consolidation…..We will be at the forefront of consolidation…..we should every year review all the stores and if every year we have to close ten stores…do it.”-Stefano Pessina, acting CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Administrators of the Illinois based legal drugs pusher, commonly known as Walgreens, announced they will shutdown 2-hundred U.S. stores between now and the end of 2017, in order to cut $1.5-billion USD from their budget.  Walgreens shutdown 76 stores in 2014.

This comes after Walgreens spent $16-billion to merge with United Kingdom based Alliance Boots, it’s now officially called Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Company administrators have not yet picked which stores will close, but it’s part of their three year plan to cut $1.5-billion, which shows you they don’t expect any real economic recovery anytime soon.  Ironically, Alex Gourlay (executive vice president of the new Walgreens Boots Alliance) says the plan to shutdown 2-hundred U.S. stores is really about opening 2-hundred new stores.  So how does that save them money?

Of course, investors loved the news of store shutdowns and sent Walgreens’ stock prices up.

In Florida, legal drugs seller Walgreens issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down their Central Operations by April, 252 jobs lost! 

What happened to Walgreens refusing to abandon the United States?

In Arizona, legal drugs pusher Walgreens shutting down their distribution center, 345 jobs will be lost! 

ObamaCare killing Walgreens?

Walgreens kills 175 Duane Reade jobs!

In Alabama, Walgreens Call Center laid off “less than ten” employees. 

In Pennsylvania, Walgreens shutdown their distribution center, 4-hundred jobs lost! 

In Ohio, 121 people lost their jobs at the Walgreens call center! 

Business/Economics

Sears & Kmart closing update, 08 April 2015: New York, Oregon & Pennsylvania losing yet more stores!

The retail exodus continues in New York as Sears Holdings announces that their 35 years old Sangertown Square Sears & Auto Center, in New Hartford, will shutdown in July.   Local news reports indicate the mall management knew for some time the store was going to close.

In Pennsylvania, Sears Holdings announced they will shutdown their Mount Pocono Kmart in July.  In Oregon, the 37 years old Ontario Kmart will also be shutdown in July.

254 stores going down?

Here’s the updated list of U.S. Sears/Kmart store closings that I’ve been compiling since the end of 2011:

Arizona: Scottsdale Sears/Great Indoors, Chandler Sears/Great Indoors.

Alabama: 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).

California: 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 (number of employees affected not made public, no WARN filed), 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.

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).

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

Florida: 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).

Georgia: 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: 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: 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). Across the street, in Pocatello, the property where the Kmart is located has a “pad site available” sign, posted ever since the Kmart bankruptcy. The Kmart building takes up most of the ‘pad’. Latest news from inside sources say Sears Holdings will not comment on any plans to expand the small amount of Craftsman products already being sold at the Kmart, or shift the Kenmore products line, from the closing Chubbuck Sears to the Pocatello Kmart. In fact all plans for the Pokey Kmart are in a ‘holding pattern’.

Illinois: 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. 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: 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 (“approximately” 68 jobs lost), Bloomington Sears to be replaced by Whole Foods grocery store.

Iowa: 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).

Kansas: 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 (back in May, Rankin Paynter bought out what was left of the inventory and gave it to charity), 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.

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).

Massachusetts: North Reading Sears Hardware store closed, lease not renewed, Milford Kmart (80 jobs lost), Kingston Kmart (73 jobs lost).

Michigan: Novi 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!

Minnesota: 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: 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).

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), recently revealed New Hartford Sears & Auto Center (109 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).

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

Ohio: 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). 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).

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).  Recently revealed Ontario Kmart (55 jobs lost).

Pennsylvania: 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), recently revealed Mount Pocono Kmart (66 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).

Tennessee: 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.

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).

Utah: Murray Sears (for some reason Mormon controlled 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).

Vermont: Rutland Sears store & Auto Center (65 jobs lost).

Virginia: 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), Wincester 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).

Washington: 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: 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).

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

Sears & Kmart closing update, 07 April 2015: Lampert speeds up shutdowns! 254 stores going down?

“Ultimately, the liquidity provided by the REIT capital raise cannot address the underlying poor performance of its retail business, and our credit analysts believe that Sears will need to close hundreds of additional stores.”-JPMorgan Chase

“If its goal is to survive as a retailer, Sears will need to get better at selling the stuff on its shelves, rather than just its remaining assets.”-Justin Lahart, Heard on the Street

The new REIT that Eddie Lampert will create, supposedly to save Sears, will involve ‘selling off’ 254 stores.  Lampert hopes that at least on paper it will raise $2.6-billion USD for his Sears Holdings.  Retail analysts seem to all agree that even more stores will have to be shutdown or sold off.

In Frackville, Pennsylvania, the Schuylkill Mall Kmart was set to shutdown in October, but Sears Holdings has decided to shut it down  two months earlier, in June.  The store manager told local news media that Sears Holdings refused to give “any reason as to why”.  The lease on the property is in effect until October, but valid leases haven’t stopped Sears Holdings from continuing to pay rent on properties its vacated in the past.

update, 25 March 2015: taxpayers bailed out Sears! 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

More Economic Decline: Notices posted in Post Offices as Zero Hour approaches fast for east Idaho’s only Postal Processing Center!

06 April 2015 (13:52 UTC-07 Tango 01)/17 Farvardin 1394/16 Jumada t-Tania 1436/18 Geng Chen 4713

Some east Idaho Post Offices have posted collection time changes (“Due to operational changes…”) for parcels and letters dropped off at their location.   The new collection times are 30 minutes earlier than normal and go into effect on 18 April 2015.

Notice posted inside the Clark Street PO in Pocatello, Idaho.

Notice posted inside the Clark Street PO in Pocatello, Idaho.

18 April is supposedly the day all east Idaho mail will be shipped to Salt Lake City, Utah, for processing.  That’s ALL mail; inbound from out of the area, out bound to other states and countries, and even cross-town letters!

17 April is the official last day of operations for the Gateway Processing Center in Pocatello.  Many people are confusing the Processing Center with the Gateway Post Office, which is located in the same building.   About 13 Clerks will remain employed after 17 April to continue operating the Post Office and the loading dock in the Processing Center.  The loading dock will remain open because beginning 18 April all east Idaho mail (in the 832 zip code area) will be loaded straight onto trucks bound for out of state processing centers in Salt Lake City.

East Idaho mail in the 834 zip code area will be sent to the main PO in Idaho Falls (IF) to be shipped to Salt Lake City.  This will be a logistical nightmare because the loading dock at the IF PO has only one door, which means trucks will have to wait in line to unload and load.

About 50 good paying jobs are in the process of being lost to a combination of early retirements, forced (“involuntary”) transfers and outright layoffs (with no severance).

There are rumors that eventually all Post Offices in Pocatello will be shutdown except for the Gateway Post Office, meaning the residents of Chubbuck and Pocatello will have only one Post Office.

Postal administrators swear up and down that delivery times will not be adversely affected by the shutdown.  I’ve got another reason why that is a lie: Performance Ratings.   For more than two decades the Gateway Processing Center has maintained some of the highest performance ratings in the Salt Lake Postal District, I’ve read that’s it’s as high as 92%.  Guess who has maintained the lowest performance ratings?  Yep, the Salt Lake Processing Centers!

Here’s some other disturbing news.  While Salt Lake postal administrators want to shutdown Gateway, for some odd reason in the past month they’ve more than doubled the mail volume they’ve been sending to Pocatello for processing!  Gateway Mail Handlers and Clerks state that the mail volume is now as high as during the end of year holiday season, and they’re operating with fewer employees due to forced retirements and transfers, and Salt Lake administrators will not allow the hiring of more employees due to the pending shutdown!

Question: If Salt Lake postal administrators think Pocatello is inefficient, and that Salt Lake can handle processing better, then why are they sending more and more mail our way?

A recent Idaho State Journal article indicated that Chubbuck city administrators have joined with Pocatello to try and stop the shutdown.  No word on any of the dozens of other east Idaho cities joining the fight, even though the shutdown will directly affect them as well.  Also, still no word from the dozens of east Idaho mail order companies, that use Priority Mail to ship out their products, showing any concern over the shutdown (companies like Weigh Vest, Fin Fun Mermaid, some company that sends Priority Medium Flat Rate boxes filed with dirt and exotic flower bulbs, another company that sends heavy boxes marked “liquid”, etc).  Those companies will see a delay in their shipments as a result of the shutdown, despite what Salt Lake postal administrators say.

Pathetic turnout for east Idaho Mayor’s last ditch effort to save Postal Processing Center!

Business/Economics

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 01 – 03 March 2015: “We weren’t expecting this at all!” More bad news from Target! Oil company blames ‘climate change’ for bankruptcy! New term for downsizing; “Accelerating Reduction Leverage”!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Bermuda based on-shore oil rig company Nabors Industries revealed they’ve killed off at least 35-hundred jobs in the United States!   While administrators told news media it was because of oil prices, CEO Anthony Petrello admitted to investors that the true reason is “They are shedding rigs based on a lack of long term contracts….”  CFO William Restrepo expects their U.S. rig count to fall by 50%.

Pepsi and Coca-Cola announced they will each shutdown at least one of their bottling ops in Russia, blaming U.S. sanctions.

California:  Employee management company Scarborough Management finally revealed they’ve gone bust and began shutting down offices across The Golden State starting back in January, more than 9-hundred jobs lost by May!  In Costa Mesa, hotel Crowne Plaza Costa Mesa issued a WARN saying they will temporarily shutdown in May, 85 jobs lost.  Colorado based solar power panel installer RGS Energy announced it will layoff 1-hundred Californians!  Company administrators say it’s the result of their new business model.

Florida: In Tampa, professional-tech services company Leidos issued a WARN saying 85 people will be laid off in April.  In Hollywood, military uniform maker and taxsucker Short Bark Industries issued a layoff WARN for May, saying 156 people will become unemployed!

Hawaii: Switzerland based GMO seed maker and farm chemicals seller Syngenta laid off 23 Hawaiians.  Administrators say it’s part of their “Accelerating Reduction Leverage program” meant to cut $1-billion USD in operating costs by 2018!  Proof the economy is not recovering.

Illinois: City administrators of Madison warned of layoffs for firefighters and police.  The Village of Madison is short $8-million, due to crashing tax revenues, which is caused only by a suck-ass-economy.   In Chicago, housewares retailer Crate & Barrel laid off under 30 of its HQ employees.  Administrators admit they don’t see any economic recovery happening, saying they need “to align our work force with our future business strategies.”  Also in Chicago, Oprah Winfrey turns her back and is moving her Harpo Studios to California, 2-hundred jobs lost!

Louisiana: Tulane University warned it must consider layoffs due to being constantly $20-million in the hole, year after year.

Massachusetts: State administrators warned they will force 45-hundred taxsucking state employees into early retirement starting in July!  The gov’na also wants to layoff an undisclosed number of state workers, saying the land of Boston Weak needs to cut $178-million from the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.  In Springfield, private Curtis Blake School shutdown with short notice to parents.  Administrators blame what I call DSS (Disappearing Student Syndrome), as usual parents were shocked by the bad economic news: “This is a big huge blow, we weren’t expecting this at all!”-Melissa Sullivan

Minnesota: Minneapolis based Target announced they will kill off several thousands of jobs by 2017!  It’s part of their plans to cut $2-billion in operating costs!  More proof there is no economic recovery.

Montana: In Kalispell, Obama Care forcing 30 patients to find a new assisted living center by April.  Reports indicate that the owner of Greenwood Village assisted living center can’t make money under Obama Care funding, so he’s turning it into a hotel!

New York: In East Elmhurst, Clarion Hotel issued a shutdown WARN for May, saying at least 44 employees will become jobless.  In North Syracuse, Seneca Data Distributors amended their 2014 WARN, saying their shutdown will take place by the end of April.  They are joining the mass exodus from The Empire State and moving to Arizona.  In Painted Post, Sitel Operating Corporation issued a shutdown WARN for April, due to the loss of a major client, 120 jobs lost!  In Huntington, Obama Care forcing mental healthcare provider The Pederson Krag Center to sell its offices across New York, at least 85 jobs lost between March and April (not known if new owner will continue operations).   Bank of New York Mellon issued a shutdown WARN for their One Wall Street office, saying 50 people will become jobless by July.  The Mondrian Soho Hotel issued a shutdown WARN for May, saying 201 employees will become jobless due to the property being foreclosed on!  The New York Times ended its Home section, several jobs lost.  Also in NYC, after 78 years the last sheet music store shutdown.  The owner of Frank Music Company blames crashing sales: “We went from seeing 15 to 20 people per day to seeing two or three. I went from feeling like I was at the center of the world to feeling invisible.”-Heidi Rogers

Oklahoma: WPX Energy announced it will layoff 83 natural gas industry workers across the U.S.  Also, most of the 156 employees in Colorado will be relocated to Oklahoma.  Company administrators admitted they never budgeted for a drop in natural gas prices: “We’ve evaluated many options to adjust our cost structure, and no solution is perfect.”– Rick Muncrief, CEO

Oregon: After 11 years U.S. Postal mail digitizer Earth Class Mail is now chapter 11 bankrupt, but only to make their sale more easy.  Earth Class Mail (Document Command and Remote Control Mail) turns your snail mail into electronic form so you can read it on your smart-phone.  The debt loaded Earth Class Mail (which has lost money every year) is being sold to an unnamed company.

Pennsylvania: In Canton, reports that after 40 years of doctor office operations Arnot Health Systems shut it down.   Local news reports say administrators with Arnot Health Systems would not talk to them.

South Dakota: In Aberdeen, after 106 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) the family owners of Webb Shoe Company announced they will shutdown by May.  The owners said they will try to rent out the property, but a fundamental shift in local economies has taken place: “It’s a whole new ballgame. Downtowns everywhere have been changing. They aren’t like they were in the 1970s and ’80s and mid-’90s. Downtown businesses have more of a niche feel now, with specialty shops and restaurants…. People come in now, look for a certain size, then go buy online somewhere.”-Jon Webb

Tennessee: After 70 years the Christian God refuses to stop the shutdown of Tennessee Temple University.   Local news reports say some student athletes were told about the shutdown, and were also told not to tell anybody about it.

Texas:  Wisconsin based Hamilton Scientific issued a WARN revealing they shutdown their Round Rock operations, 67 jobs lost.  Administrators blamed “unforeseen business circumstances”.   Evil call center contractor Convergys announced they will layoff 281 people at their Pharr call center, by the end of April!   Administrators blamed the property owner saying “Basically our lease on the building will expire on August 31 and we decided not to renew the lease in that location.”  Houston based off-shore oil rig company Cal Dive now chapter 11 bankrupt busted after failing to make the $2.2-million interest payment on a massive loan!  Don’t blame oil prices, company administrators say they’ve been losing money since last year, after bad weather canceled at least two major projects: “Our business has experienced several adverse events that were beyond our control, and with our current capital structure, we are no longer able to financially withstand the industry downturn.”-Quinn Hébert, CEO

Virginia: In Midlothian, Kids R Kids daycare center shutdown with only one weeks notice.  The operators said they’ve “experienced a period of financial difficulty and can no longer sustain ongoing operations.”  180 children affected.

West Virginia: First Community Bank announced they will shutdown their Mercer Mall office in May, blaming lack of “traffic”.

27 – 28 February 2015: “we have not been spared”

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.

Business/Economics

Warren Buffett to kill off $1-billion worth of jobs, because he “likes them”! Welcome to Zero Based Budgeting, the wave of the future?

26 March 2015 (15:45 UTC-07 Tango 01)/06 Farvardin 1394/05 Jumada t-Tania 1436/07 Ji Mao 4713

“…these are brands that I like 30 plus years ago and I like them today, and I think I like them 30 years from now.”-Warren Buffett, after merging his Heinz with Kraft and then announcing $1-billion USD in job cuts

Yes, apparently if you like a company’s products you take them over and layoff the people who make those products, at least that’s the philosophy of Warren Buffett and his vulture capitalist ‘investment’ schemes called Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.

In 2013 they took over Heinz, then immediately began killing jobs in the U.S. and Canada.  In November, Buffett’s partners announced that little ol’ Pocatello, Idaho, would lose 610 jobs in 2014, because Buffet decided to give the local Heinz plant the axe.  That was a major blow to communities (Pocatello and Chubbuck) with a combined population of less than 80-thousand, and already suffering from at least a decade of job losses.

Reports say that so far 6650 Heinz employees, worldwide, have become jobless!

This latest Buffett deal will make Kraft-Heinz the 5th largest food company in the World.  According to Nightly Business Report the “first order of business” is to kill $1-billion worth of cost, mainly in marketing and manufacturing, that’s translates directly to job killing.  ‘Investors’ loved the news of job killing (as they always do) and pushed Heinz stock prices upward by 35%.

The Wall Street Journal explains that Buffett’s current plans are corporate austerity measures, or Zero Based Budgeting.  Basically companies are taken over then the employees are forced to justify every little thing they do, and if ‘investors’ don’t like what they see those employees get fired.  And that’s the kicker, everything is done from the point of view of an ‘investor’, not somebody who’s on the front line trying to run a business making and selling products or services.  If you’ve worked the front lines of business you know there are things you have to do that just wouldn’t make sense to a bean counter who’s only interest is the “bottom line”.

The Wall Street Journal reports Zero Based Budgeting has become the norm for almost all publicly owned (they issue stocks to the public) food companies.  This can only mean a snowballing of job cuts.

Now realize that unAmerican Buffett reportedly spent $10-billion on the Kraft-Heinz deal, and his Brazilian based 3G Capital reportedly spent $49-billion to merge Heinz and Kraft!  That could have created a lot of jobs!

How can these ‘investors’ expect to sell the products they “like” if they’re killing jobs for many of the customers who buy those products?   Reality check; those ‘investors’ don’t really “like” the products you and I buy in a market place called a grocery store. The ‘products’ they “like” are called stocks, or shares or even corporate bonds, and they sell them in a market place called Wall Street!

(Wall Street is an actual place, but in this case it refers to all stock market trading houses)

Tim Hortons was recently taken over by Warren Buffett’s crony Brazilian vulture capitalist buddies at 3G Capital 

Kraft Foods announced they are killing 285 jobs!

In Pittsburgh, Wall Street wunderkind Warren Buffett killed 775 more Heinz jobs. 

In Pittsburgh, 350 people lost their jobs with Heinz. 

According to the latest reports, Buffett’s current five faves for stock investments involve Archer-Daniels Midland Company, which is involved with cooking oil and food commodities trading. He also likes Kraft Foods, a major user of cooking oil 

3G Capital is known for “cutting up” companies (typical Romneyite vulture capitalists)

…discontinuation of its T.G.I. Friday’s frozen meals, Heinz conducted a thorough evaluation of the production needs at its Pocatello, Idaho factory. 

Warren Buffett says the Elites have won, his propsed tax on the Elites is first step to increasing taxes on everyone else 

Business/Economics

Sears & Kmart update, 25 March 2015: Proof Illinois taxpayers bailed out Sears! Sears Hometown gets remodeled! Property developer kills off Kmart replacement!

In 2014 there was word that a vacant Michigan Kmart would be replaced with a World of Beer store, not no more.

The News Herald reports that World of Beer has changed its mind about moving into the Woodhaven Kmart.  Local city administrators assume that World of Beer and the property owner couldn’t agree on the lease, so World of Beer is going someplace else.  There were also problems with the property owner’s plans for re-developing the Kmart, which ended up requiring more land.

In Kentucky, a property developer is spreading some great sounding rumors.  surfkyNEWS reports that a vacant Madisonville Kmart might be filled with a Roses Discount Store.  However, the property developer making the claim also rambled on about all these wonderful sounding commercial deals involving dozens of projects, all of which were still “coming along” or basically just on paper.

The property developer even claims there are big plans for privately run “urgent care, primary care and specialized” healthcare centers because of Obama Care (if you’ve been reading my Job Loss and Obamacare Job Destruction reports you’ll see that can’t be true).  surfkyNEWS even said that the property developer admitted “…it’s been a game of musical chairs over the last three years.”

Sears Holdings announced they will revamp their contracted out Sears Hometown and Outlet franchise.   51 of the contracted stores will get “a two-phase refresh” beginning in March, with an expected grand re-opening sometime in April (it should be noted that Sears Holdings made this info public on 25 March 2015): “The refresh includes a new product assortment, redesigned merchandising, new fixtures & signage, and comprehensive training for floor associates, among other changes.”

Does it have anything to do with the taxpayer bailouts of Sears Holdings?

According to Good Jobs First, Sears Holdings has received more than $531-million USD in tax subsidies just from the state and local governments of Illinois!

Visit the Good Jobs First website to find out just how much your so called capitalist unAmerican Corporate America relies on socialist style tax subsidies, all while they kill off U.S. jobs and your ‘elected’ administrators cut your social safety net!

UPDATE, 20 MARCH 2015:  GEORGIA KMART GOING DOWN, BUT SEARS DENIES IT!

Business/Economics, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 27 – 28 February 2015: “We have not been spared…” “…1,200 plus employees may not be getting a paycheck.” Obamacare at it again! More BS in the oil sector! Harassing A-hole debt collectors soon to join unemployment line!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

An east coast health insurance company is killing jobs, no thanks to Obama Care.  Highmark laid off almost 1-hundred people in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia!  Administrators admit that since Obama Care went into effect they’ve actually lost customers, so much so that they have to make drastic cuts!  Apparently Obama Care favors Highmark’s competitor Aetna as many of Highmark’s customers were forced to change insurance plans and become Aetna and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center customers.    One report says Highmark lost 60% of “market share” just in the western half of Pennsylvania!   What was that about Obama Care increasing access to healthcare?

Arizona: In Green Valley, after 14 years The Old Time Butcher Shop announced it will shutdown in March. The owners say a 60% drop in business is a sign to spend more time with their great-grand-children.

California:  Castaic Union School District has approved the elimination of at least 43 jobs.  Those still employed will be forced to take unpaid days off (furlough).   It’s blamed on what I call DSS (Disapearing Student Syndrome), district administrators say the school system has lost more than 1-thousand students over the past ten years!

Colorado:  In Denver, after 35 years the owner of Hollywood Posters announced he must shut it down by April.  It’s blamed on evil landlords jacking up the rent: “We’re seeing a re-gentrifying of East Colfax. Rates are going crazy!”-Carolyn Martinez, commercial real estate agent

Connecticut:  Evil Too Big to Jail Royal Bank of Scotland (aka RBS) announced it will eliminate more than 1-thousand U.S. jobs in Stamford!  The British empire bank said it’s part of their plans to cut global operations down from 38 countries to just 13.

Idaho: The Idaho Department of Labor has finally posted some past due WARNs issued by Kimbal and Plum Creek Timber (in my earlier Job Loss reports I noted that no WARNs had been posted concerning their layoffs-shutdowns).  Also, a WARN was posted by food producer Simplot saying 20 people will be laid off from their Aberdeen ops in April.

Illinois:  In Peru, OfficeMax is quietly shutting down its call center, 275 employees were ordered to keep their mouths shut!  Local news reports say the shutdown will happen in March.  Apparently OfficeMax is moving the call center offshore to India.  The 42 years old Aurora Child Development Center shutting down due to state funding problems.  Administrators say the great state of Illinois is at least three months behind on their Child Care Assistance Program payments!

Indiana:  US Steel (aka USS) shutting down the last of their Gary coke factories by May, 3-hundred jobs lost!  Administrators blame the crashing steel market and the fact that they’ve spent big bucks on building a new coke factory in Alabama.

Michigan: Evil debt collector Asset Acceptance Capital announced it will layoff 125 call center employees in May!  Good, now those harassing ass-holes will know what it’s like when you can’t pay your bills!

Missouri: A major advertising company in Saint Louis laid off 15 people.  Administrators of Osborn Barr blame crashing orders for advertisements from its primary client; the farm industry.

New York: Bankrupt NYC based women’s clothing chain Cache issued a WARN saying they will shutdown their administrative offices by March, 1-hundred jobs lost!  Is Obama Care responsible for the shutdown of Jewish home healthcare services?  In Bronx, FEGS (Federation Employment and Guidance Services) Family Care Services (Jewish Home Healthcare) issued a WARN saying they lost their contract with the state Children Services, 80 jobs lost by March. FEGS also issued a WARN saying as a result they must “restructure” resulting in at least 206 employees across the state becoming jobless by May!  In West Point, Land O’Frost announced it will shutdown its recently acquired Wimmer’s Meats factory by Autumn. Company administrators claim they had plans to operate the factory for years to come, but the economy is worse than they thought, 125 jobs lost!

Ohio: Amazingly TimkenSteel is blaming low oil prices for laying off 52 steel workers in March!  Apparently TimkenSteel customers work in the oil industry and orders have crashed.

Puerto Rico: The FDIC seized the assets of Doral Bank and turned them over to Banco Popular of Puerto Rico.

Texas: Oil industry tool maker Dresser-Rand announced it will kill off about 650 jobs!  Administrators blame crashing orders from the oil industry, however, the true reason could be that Dresser-Rand is trying to make itself look lean and mean as it hopes to sell itself to Germany’s Siemens for $7.6-billion USD.

Washington:  In Everett, Illinois based Boeing has notified 319 employees that they will become jobless in April!  In late 2013 state politicians extended tax breaks for Boeing for the sole purpose of keeping jobs alive, now they’re trying to get that money back.    After less than one year of operation Trios Medical Center now in big financial trouble no thanks to Obama Care (referred to as “the changing healthcare market”) with CEO Glen Marshall explaining that “The national trend has and will continue to be one of doing more with less. We have not been spared in that regard.”  40 employees laid off without notice and hospital assets are now being sold off.  An unnamed employee told local news media “On Fridays, on paydays, people are frantically checking their bank accounts to see if they’ll get paid. It’s a real fear that 1,200 plus employees may not be getting a paycheck.”

Wisconsin: Pay/Half clothing store shutting down in the Regency Mall.  No closure date was reported, and neither was an explanation given.

23 – 26 February 2015: “…the economy has dictated.”

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.