Tag Archives: labor

Business/Economics

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 11 – 12 December 2014: “Everybody wants to know, ‘Is there anything we can do?’ and there is nothing.” Obamacare kills off bus service? Halliburton kills 1-thousand jobs!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Alabama: Sweden based rubber factory Hexpol AP issued a WARN saying it will shutdown its ‘mixing’ ops in January 2015, at least 61 jobs lost.

California: In Cypress, Tuesday Morning merchandiser shutdown, blaming location; a bigger shopping plaza was built in front of the Tuesday Morning location!  In Clovis, security camera maker Pelco by Schneider Electric laid off about 45 employees.  Reports that iconic San Jose based internet selling venue ebay is killing off 3-thousand jobs beginning right after Xmas: “There will be changes; there will be significant changes.”-Devin Wenig, current ebay president

In San Diego, iconic SeaWorld issued a WARN saying 108 people will be laid off by February 2015! In Rancho Mirage, Acqua Pazza California Bistro at The River shutdown due to not renewing the lease. Jerry Keller, co-owner, pointed out how risky the restaurant business is saying “It’s been a great 10 years and when you think that 90% of restaurants here close in two years, that’s a pretty good run.”   In Santa Rosa, after nearly 40 years Arrigoni’s Deli & Cafe shutdown.

Florida: The Suwannee Valley Transit Authority warned of massive layoffs due to Obama Care!  Bus administrators stated that a large amount of their revenue was coming from Medicaid, but that’s being cut off as Obama Care is forcing many passengers to use different transportation services!

Michigan: Rochester Community Schools warned of layoffs after an unexpected crash in student enrollment. Administrators say the district lost 154 students, more than was expected! They blame it on the area’s major employer Chrysler.  Battle Creek based iconic cereal maker Kellogg was forced by union members to admit they are shutting down two major cereal making factories. It’s blamed on crashing cereal sales. However, company administrators refuse to say which factories will die.  Troy based coupon book publisher Entertainment Publications eliminated an undisclosed number of employees.  Employees told local news sources that the layoffs were “signifigant”, at least 50% of employees were laid off!  In Monroe, the Gap Outlet clothing store announced it will shutdown in January 2015.

Minnesota: Video game maker NativeX laid off 12 employees at its Sartell HQ.

Missouri: In Kansas City, AT&T announced the elimination of 29 jobs.  It’s part of the larger 270 jobs being culled at AT&T ops in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas!

New Jersey: After 61 years Boro Hardware shutdown, the owner blamed property speculators: “In the words of The Godfather, they made me an offer I could not refuse.”-Steve Epstein

New York: Amalgamated Bank issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down Branch 24, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 31 between March and April 2015.  In North Syracuse, Seneca Data Distributors Issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down their warehouse in March 2015, at least 65 jobs lost.  They are joining the exodus from New York and moving to Arizona.  Switzerland based legal drugs pusher Novartis announced it is shutting down its Suffern ops.  News reports out of New Jersey say 525 people will become jobless as a result (222 of which live in New Jersey)!

Ohio: Iconic White Castle burger joint shutting down all five restaurants in Cleveland and Akron! To top it off, they’re being shutdown on Xmas eve! Administrators of the family owned burger joint says the economy is so bad in Cleveland and Akron that they can’t afford to continue operating in those cities.

Oregon: The Evergreen Vintage Aircraft museum now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  The museum is home to the iconic Spruce Goose.

Pennsylvania: After 69 years Shehadi Appliance shutdown. The owners are pissed because their prices were in line with ‘big box’ stores, but it didn’t matter: “You can see the surprise in people when they say ‘Wow, you are the same price as Lowe’s.’ Then they walk out the door and go to Lowe’s!”-Richard Roman, co-owner

South Carolina: After more than 20 years Hot Wheels Skating Center shutdown, because the new property owners want to tear it down!  The skate rink manager Terri Halter said “Everybody wants to know, ‘Is there anything we can do?’ and there is nothing. My mom’s taking it really hard. She’s seen probably three generations of children. It’s rough, especially when you’re that committed to children. You don’t want to leave them without a place of security and fun.”

Tennessee: Union University laid off five staff employees, blaming it on a drop of 270 students from 2013 to 2014!

Texas: Across the state, it’s been revealed that 14 charter schools will be shutdown next school year! State administrators claim the schools are not meeting financial or academic standards, however, some school administrators have presented documents challenging the state’s claims.  Infamous fracking company Halliburton announced it will kill off 1-thousand oil jobs around the World!  Ignorant main stream news media blamed crashing oil prices, but guess what?  It’s really because of the Obama regime imposed sanctions on Russia, and turmoil in west Africa.

West Virginia: What housing market recovery?  Flooring maker Unilin announced that 47 employees at its Holden factory will become jobless after Xmas, blaming “declining market conditions”.

09-10-december-2014: “…too saturated with everyone trying to split a dollar.”

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

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 09 – 10 December 2014: “…too saturated with everyone trying to split a dollar.” World’s biggest chip maker kills off 600 jobs! More clothing store shutdowns! More Obamacare job destruction!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Arkansas: Noranda Aluminum announced laid off at least 38 people, blaming crashing demand.  Back in September the company laid off 200 people in Missouri, blaming utility rates and crashing demand for their product.

California: The World’s largest maker of computer chips, San Diego based Qualcomm, issued several WARNs saying they will render 289 people across southern California jobless, as well as 600 people around the World by February 2015!  Company administrators say they must get the hell outta the chip business, it’s that bad!  Too Big to Jail Bank of America warned of February 2015 layoffs at its Los Angeles operations.  The Hacienda Hotel issued a WARN saying they are shutting down their El Segundo hotel in February 2015, at least 96 jobs lost.   Switzerland based legal drugs pusher F. Hoffmann-La Roche (aka Roche) has taken over InterMune for $8.3-billion USD.  The now former CEO of InterMune walked away with a $36-million severance package, while 170 employees in Brisbane are being laid off in February 2015!  “Cloud solutions for government” Granicus issued a WARN saying they will shutdown their San Francisco office in April 2015, at least 47 jobs lost.  In Petaluma, SPG Solar shutdown, at least 10 jobs lost.  In Santa Clara, Toppan Photomasks issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down in March 2015, at least 75 jobs lost.  In Foothill Ranch, Genesis Healthcare issued a WARN saying 71 people will be rendered jobless in February 2015.  In Herlong, taxsucking government contractor Bowhead Support issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down in February 2015, at least 119 jobs lost!  In Berkeley, after 42 years the Taiwan Restaurant shutdown, the owners blame the new landlord who wants to tear everything down and put up a new building.

Florida: In Palatka, waste management company Alorica issued a WARN saying they will layoff 96 people in February 2015.

Illinois:  In Mount Prospect, the owners of Randhurst Village shopping center forced the three years old The Billy Goat Tavern to shutdown. Basically the shopping center owners found a new tenant who’s willing to pay more in rent.

Michigan: What automotive industry recovery?   In Lansing, GM (General Motors) revealed that 450 people at its Grand River Assembly Plant could become jobless in early 2015! It’s blamed on crashing sales of upscale Cadillacs.  In Wyandotte, the Axe-n-Ladder Deli shutdown, the owner blamed a sudden increase in competition: “After we opened, six restaurants opened up. Lunch isn’t a destination place. You eat lunch where you’re at, and it just got too saturated with everyone trying to split a dollar.”-Ted Copley

Montana: The state’s Department of Livestock warned of layoffs and unpaid furloughs due to increased spending on brucellosis testing on cows, and increased employee insurance and retirement funding mandated by Obama Care! To make things worse, state administrators have actually cut overall funding for the Department of Livestock.

New Jersey: Switzerland based legal drugs pusher Novartis announced it will lay off 200 people in The Garden State by February 2015!  Obama Care is forcing them to “…position our U.S. General Medicines business for long-term success.”

New York: Clothing store the Gap announced it will shutdown their Salmon Run Mall store in January 2015.  In Syracuse, after 50 years MQ Camera shutdown.

North Carolina: Maker of robotic drugs making systems, Parata Systems, announced they will render 110 people jobless!  Administrators say Obama Care is forcing them “…to better align with the larger health care market and position us for future growth and new opportunities.”

Ohio: The city of Cleveland announced it will render employees jobless, not fill vacant positions and increase fees charged to the public! City administrators revealed that local tax-fee revenues crashed by $2.5-million per year!  In Kettering, the once iconic but now dying Eastman Kodak laid off 15 people.

Pennsylvania: NYC based bratty teenage girl’s clothing chain store dELiA*s sold off their Hanover distribution center, 120 jobs lost!

Vermont: In Burlington, after five years Das Bierhaus German restaurant shutdown: “Renewal time had come and, as the dust of negotiations and exploring other options settled, I was fortunate enough to have been presented with an offer I could not refuse.”-Nick Karabelas, owner

05-08-december-2014: the suck-ass economy is going to kick yours!

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

Sears & Kmart closing update, 29 January 2015: Junky 3D printed jewelry now sold by Sears? GGP is now up to $392-million on Sears that it killed! 122 Californians to be unemployed!

In Montana, the taxpayers of Bozeman asked their city administrators about using the now vacant Kmart for a new police state operation.  Here’s what an architect who helped designed the new taxpayer raped, I mean funded, $24-million USD law enforcement center said about the former Kmart building: “You can’t turn a sow’s ear into a purse.”-Bill Hanson

In Hawaii, an update on the fools at GGP (Genral Growth Properties).  If you’ve been following my Sears & Kmart updates from the beginning you’d know that GGP bought the massive Sears store at its   Ala Moana Center mall, then shut it down.  To date GGP has spent $391.5-million expanding and remodeling the massive Sears into dozens of smaller shops.   GGP administrators now say they expect to spend almost $600-million by the time the project is done.  They think they’ll get a 10% return on their investment, that is if they can lease out all the spaces.

An Ohio based 3D printing company, 3DLT, announced it has signed a contract to provide Sears with jewelry and even home ‘furnishings’.  Apparently some of those items will be sold under the Craftsman and DieHard brands.

A 50 years old California Sears shutting down in May.  The store is so big is has at least 122 employees!   A California Kmart in Blythe is rumored to shutdown, but local news say administrators at Sears Holdings called the rumor “…a bad rumor. The Kmart store in Blythe will continue to remain open to the public.”  Famous last words?

update, 27 January 2015: track record of destruction?

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), recently revealed Westfield Topanga Sears (122 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).

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).

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).

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! 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).

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, 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).

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 obvious the last remaining Saginaw Kmart will remain shutdown after its roof collapsed during a snowstorm back in January 2014, 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).

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).

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).

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: Depew (Lancaster?) Kmart (68 jobs lost), Colonie Kmart (72 jobs lost), Fulton Kmart (51 jobs lost), Clifton Park Kmart (74 jobs lost), 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).

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.

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).

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).

Puerto Rico: Vega Baja Kmart (# of jobs lost not reported).

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).

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, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 05 – 08 December 2014: More girly clothing store deaths! More proof the suck-ass economy is going to kick yours!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

British empire’s British Petroleum (BP) said that crashing oil prices are causing them to “accelerate” their already massive planned layoffs.  Those layoffs have been in the works ever since BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Gannett owned USA Today announced it is ending publication of its USA Weekend edition, eliminating at least 30 jobs.  Back in September USA Today laid off 70 people.

California:  In Beverly Hills, 3D movie tech company RealD announced it must cut $16-million in expenses and warned jobs will be lost.  After eight years award winning restaurant Hatfield’s shutdown. No explanation, but the owners swore they’d be back with a new restaurant.  In Ontario, corporate spy agency IntelliSource issued a WARN saying the will shutdown by February 2015, at least 312 jobs lost!  In Santa Monica, La Sandia restaurant issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in February 2015, at least 74 jobs lost.  Also in Santa Monica, Zengo restaurant issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in February 2015, at least 74 jobs lost.  Freedom Communications revealed (in a late issued WARN) how many people it laid off after halting publication of its LA Register; 88.  Earlier reports said only 20 people were let go.

Georgia: Atlanta based iconic Coca Cola announced it is cutting $100-million AUD from its Australian ops in 2015, killing off at least 250 jobs in the Land Down Under! Coca Cola already killed off at least 157 Australian jobs for 2014!  Procter & Gamble warned it will shutdown its Augusta factory by 2016, at least 190 jobs lost (40 employees, 150 contractors)!  Between 2012 and 2013 Procter & Gamble eliminated 160 jobs at the same factory!  Company administrators say the rapidly changing U.S. economy means they must radically change their supply system across the U.S.

Idaho: Administrators with “the nation’s largest supplier of building materials for home building” ProBuild announced they’re shutting down their Sandpoint ops due to crashing sales.

Illinois: God refused to stop ‘his’ Benedictine University from ending its undergraduate program and killing as many as 100 jobs!   In Oregon city, after four years Jackass BBQ shutdown with little notice, the owner is pissed about the lack of any economic recovery, he’s now forced to auction off his personal tools: “Business is slow here in Oregon…Most people from Dixon do not drive here anymore….We will have lots of Craftsman tools and toolboxes, antiques, household items and furniture. We have a welder and oxygen acetylene cutting torches, along with several steel industrial work benches.”-Andy Riegel

Kentucky: Patriot Coal announced more coal mine shutdowns, this time two mines will be shutdown by January 2015, at least 670 jobs lost!

Mississippi: In Jackson County, bankrupt Mississippi Phosphates announced they’re halting diammonium phosphate production, at least 172 jobs lost!

New York:  NYC based bratty teenage girl’s clothing chain store dELiA*s now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and liquidating.  The company has been for sale for a long time now, but obviously nobody wants to buy it in this suck-ass economy.  Company administrators admitted sales are so bad they haven’t made a profit in five years!  In Ithaca, after more than 40 years Manos Diner shutdown. The news was revealed by an employee.  In Saratoga county, the company about to takeover Maplewood Manor nursing home, Zenith Healthcare, revealed they plan on eliminating 97 jobs and move other employees to part time only.

Texas: God refused to stop ‘his’ Southern Methodist University (home of the George W. Bush Presidential Library) from cutting programs and killing jobs. The Christian university has spent tens of millions on new dorm buildings despite DSS (what I call Disappearing Student Syndrome).

Wisconsin: Non-profit WPS Health Insurance (aka Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation) laid off 20 IT (information technology) workers. The company laid off 250 people in 2013! Administrators blame their military Tricare (formerly known as CHAMPUS, Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services) and Medicare contracts, as well as blaming Obama Care: “The reality is the competition for these government contracts, along with health care reform, is requiring everyone to look for more efficiencies.”– Ellen Foley

03-04-december-2014: Iconic business that survived 2 major U.S. depressions gets killed off by current “recovery”!

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

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 03 – 04 December 2014: “Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.” Iconic business that survived 2 major U.S. depressions gets killed off by current “recovery”! Any fool can see the “recovered” economy sucks-ass!!!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

California: In Korbel, California Redwood issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in February 2015, at least 106 jobs lost!  In Burlingame, Mills-Peninsula Health issued a WARN saying they will render 67 employees jobless by February 2015.  Ireland based drug maker Actavis took over California based Allergan, then issued a WARN saying 200 people in Corona will become jobless!  Freedom Communications halted publication of its five months old Los Angeles Register.  Company administrators refused to say how many got laid off, but an unnamed employee said at least 20 people are now jobless. In Auburn, the owners of pet supply store Pet Xing announced they’re shutting down in January 2015.  They described the suck-ass economy thusly “Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.”

Colorado: Denver based WOW cable jacked up service rates then eliminated 270 jobs across the country!  At least one irate customer in Kansas was happy, posting online “Hopefully that means they are about ready to sell out and leave Lawrence. It would be too good to be true that another company with better service and lower rates were to come into the area. Competition would be good if more than one company were available for customers to choose from.”

Florida: In West Palm Beach, transportation and warehousing company Metro Mobility issued a WARN saying they’ll layoff 286 people in January 2015!

Illinois: A Panera Bread store shutdown. Company administrators said the city’s recent minimum wage hike, to $13 per hour over the next five years, was the final straw that broke their Beverly store’s back. Rumors say the company will simply open a new store just outside city limits. The owner of Beverly’s Original Rainbow Cone warned she is contemplating a similar decision.  In Urbana, after only one year a Kroger owned Ruler Foods discount grocery store shutdown without notice. For some reason Kroger built three Ruler Foods stores in Urbana in the space of two years, apparently that was one too many. Company administrators refused to talk to local news media.

Maine: After 184 years (surviving the Long Depression and the Great [deflationary] Depression, plus numerous recessions) iconic shoe store chain JL Combs now dead! Stores across several New England states to close by January 2015.  JL Combs was the oldest shoe store chain in the U.S., company administrators posted this humorous  reason why they’re shutting down: “It’s just too damn hard with all this new fangled competition everywhere.  And I’m starting to feel a bit tired of working 7 days a week.  After all, I’m 184 years old!”

Michigan: After suddenly shutting down all 136 operations in 25 states and Puerto Rico, American Laser Skincare (formerly known as American Laser Centers) now chapter 7 bankrupt busted and liquidating. Some employees reported they were threatened by armed security guards that they had less than two hours to get all their gear and vacate the premises! Many customers pre-paid for skincare services worth thousands of dollars, and will not be getting refunds!  Southwest Regional Rehabilitation Center shutting down and killing off 96 jobs due to reduced inpatient care caused by Obama Care: “We wish we weren’t writing the final chapter, but the changing healthcare environment has left us no alternative.”-Jim Hettinger, Board of Trustees

The CEO of the Oaklawn Hospital, Ginger Williams, said people should have seen this coming before Obama Care became law, saying it’s “…an unfortunate, but entirely predictable, consequence of health care reform.”

Minnesota: In Rochester, Big Lots is shutting down in January 2015.  Local news reports say company administrators refuse to say why.  I say Big Lots is a ripoff because I’ve found many of the items I price checked to be much cheaper at first run retailers (at least here in Idaho)! By the way, Big Lots exited the Canadian market in 2013, a portent of things to come for U.S. retailers wanting to do business in the Great White North?

Missouri:  In Kansas City, 65 years old Golden Ox steak restaurant shutdown. News reports said the owner wanted to retire, but could his retirement have been influenced by the skyrocketing prices of beef?

Nevada: Not even one month after re-opening, the Laughlin River Lodge laid off 10% of its employees, blaming the suck-ass economy: “Once we opened up, the gaming was solid but it’s not been solid enough to overcome the shortfalls on the hotel and somewhat on the food and beverage side. We’re just not getting the occupancy we need to make those parts of our division able to pay all that payroll.”-Steve DesChamps, general manager

New York: In NYC, Aéropostale announced they are shutting down 75 stores before the end of 2014! That’s about 25 more than what was originally planned.  Administrators blame their crashing-n-burning sales.  Also in NYC, restaurant operator RA Herald Square-Patina Restaurant Group issued a WARN saying they will close in February 2015, supposedly for remodeling, 89 jobs affected.  For the second time this year State Department of Labor administrators announced they must render their own employees jobless.  The number of people being laid off in this latest round of job cuts was not disclosed, but news reports say in the first round 67 people lost their jobs and 215 were pushed to part time work only.  State administrators blame “cuts in federal funding”.

North Carolina: British empire United Kingdom based legal drugs pusher GlaxoSmithKline announced 900 job losses at the Research Triangle Park!   Morehead Memorial Hospital laid off 22 people, and reduced the work hours for another 160! WFMY News 2 reported that hospital administrators directly blame Obama Care.  Sykes Enterprises issued a WARN saying they’re consolidating call centers, 226 jobs lost!

Ohio: In Waverly, 78 years old Lake White Club restaurant shutdown. After months of spending money on renovations, the bad economy forced the current owners to put the restaurant up for auction in October, but nobody bid on it.  In Trotwood, the Hara Arena announced layoffs due to the suck-ass economy.  Local news reports say the 50 years old arena now has only 12 employees.

Pennsylvania: After 80 years, female clothing chain store Deb Shops (aka DEB) now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.

Texas: Wiley College laid off 16 employees and furloughed others due to DSS (what I call Disappearing Student Syndrome) and crashing donations.  The Woodlands based Huntsman Corporation announced it will eliminate 900 jobs!  It’s connected to the takeover of competitor Rockwood Holdings.

Virginia: In King George, after 18 years the owner of Howard’s Bakery & Restaurant announced they will shutdown after Xmas. Local news reports said the owner blamed the past three years of suck-ass sales.

Wisconsin: In Madison, after 22 years Jolly Bob’s Caribbean restaurant shutdown. The owner, Tim Erickson, blamed the lack of economic recovery: “The last five years have been really difficult, not that the first 17 years were easy, but especially the last five years have been really tough. And I’m not a young man anymore.”

01-02-december-2014: …kills off 30-thousand+ jobs joins mass-exodus from obama’s home state…

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

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 01 – 02 December 2014: Jewelry seller kills off 30-thousand+ jobs in U.S. & Canada, & joins the mass exodus from Obama’s ‘home’ state! Puerto Rico bank abandons Lower 48! Drug makers abandon the U.S.?

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

British empire United Kingdom based legal drugs pusher GlaxoSmithKline announced massive layoffs that will impact hundreds of jobs in the United States!   Apparently the bad economy in the U.S. is forcing the British company to cut expenses by $1.56-billion over the next three years.  What the company said sounds like their abandoning the U.S. market: “…a new restructuring program to refocus our global pharmaceuticals business and deliver cost savings. The aim of this program is to improve performance by taking unnecessary complexity out of our operations and establish a smaller, more focused organization, operating at lower costs, that supports our future portfolio.”

California: Boeing subsidiary Narus shutdown their Sunnyvale office with little notice to state employment administrators, 35 jobs lost.

Florida: After 25 years the SoBe Thrifty store in Miami Beach announced they will shutdown in January 2015.  The operator, healthcare agency Care Resource, blames road construction which has caused a “sharp drop” in business as well as the landlord who jacked up the rent: “This is something we didn’t want to do. The general business decline, mixed with steep rent increases in that area, literally make it impossible to keep the store open.”-Jonathan Welsh

Illinois: Oakton Community College warned it will layoff 80 teachers before the 2015-16 school year. Apparently the teachers are retired and a potential new state law says retired teachers can no longer be hired by state funded schools. UPS (United Parcel Service) issued a WARN saying they will shutdown their Addison operations for the next two years, rendering 449 people jobless!   In Rosemont, Puerto Rico based  Banco Popular killing off 233 jobs! The bank is getting the hell out of the continental United States, and is conducting a massive sell-off of its offices across the Lower 48.  Also in Rosemont, Rosewood Restaurant & Banquets issued a WARN saying they will shutdown at the end of December, 104 jobs lost!  Sealy Mattress issued a WARN saying 174 people working at their Batavia factory will become unemployed before Xmas!  Evil collections agency Ceannate announced they’re shutting down their Rockford office in February 2015, at least 130 jobs lost!  Four Chicago area country clubs shutting down by January 2015, at least 288 jobs lost! Also in Chicago, Continental Furniture laying off 63 people in January 2015 as well as GE Zenith Controls laying off 139 people in January 2015!  God refuses to stop ‘his’ Benedictine University from laying off an undisclosed number of employees on their Springfield campus, right after  Xmas!   In Wood Dale, after 28 years direct jewelry seller Lia Sophia announced they will end U.S. and Canadian operations by February 2015, tens of thousands of employees and independent sellers affected!  A 2008 news report said Lia Sophia had 27-thousand sellers just in the United States, and currently there are 8-hundred sellers in the state of Illinois!   Company administrators blamed the suck-ass economy: “…given the challenging business environment, we made the painful decision to wind down Lia Sophia in the United States and Canada by December 31, and cease operations by the end of February.”

Indiana: The Hollywood Casino laid off an undisclosed number of employees.  Local news reports say the casino now has 450 less employees than it did in 2012!

Iowa: In Cedar Rapids, after nine years Cranky Hank’s pizza joint in the Lindale Mall shutdown.

Maine: The University of Southern Maine continues to kill off jobs, this time 61 people now unemployed and five programs canceled. They continue to blame a 30% crash in student enrollment!

Michigan: The Holland Museum laid off six employees and reduced operating hours.  Administrators warned if their financial situation doesn’t improve within six months they will shutdown.  Apparently the museum gets local tax funding, but  tax strapped voters recently voted down funding increases.

Missouri: 20 years old Saint Louis based Access Courier issued a WARN saying they will kill off 74 jobs in December, due to “sale of assets”.  South Dakota based Raven Industries issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down their Earth City ops by August 2015,  at least 58 jobs lost.  Their Earth City factory makes remote controls for adjustable beds, but sales are apparently so bad that the company will make more money selling off the factory.

New York: In Kirkwood, book publisher Penguin Random House issued a WARN saying they’re shutting down in September 2015, layoffs will begin in January 2015, at least 286 jobs will be lost!  NYC based sports media management company IMG laying off 100 employees!  It the result of being taken over by California based privately held talent agency WME.  Once again The New York Times killing off more jobs.  Recently the newspaper tried to bribe 100 employees to quit with buyouts, 85 employees took the deal.  Now at least 15 people will be laid off outright.   And after 95 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) art supply store Sam Flax announced it will shutdown its HQ store on 900 Third Avenue by Xmas!  Employees blamed the evil landlord for jacking up the rent!

Utah: In Ogden, after 38 years the family owners of Sandy’s Fine Foods restaurant announced they will shutdown by the end of the month. It will end with a yard sale of restaurant memorabilia. The family will focus on their catering business.

Vermont: Vermont Technical College warned of layoffs due partly to the loss of 160 students over the past three years.

Washington: Near Pasco, the largest trucking operation in the World  Swift Transportation issued a WARN saying they’re killing off 130 jobs in January 2015!

27-30-november-2014: “Everything must go!”

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

Sears & Kmart closing update, 27 January 2015: New executives have track record of destruction? Options trading suddenly skyrockets! Majority owner dumps stocks! Sofia Vergara dumps Kmart!

Sears Holdings has killed off 115 jobs, 100 of which were at its Hoffman Estates HQ in Illinois!

Sears Holdings also (through Kmart Retail) issued a WARN saying an Indiana Kmart is going down on 12 April 2015, layoffs begin 05 April 2015.

Sears Holdings has a new Senior Director of Asset and Profit Protection, Brian Broadus.  He worked for Bed, Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Ross, JCPenney and the Gap.  Note that most of those operations are in trouble.

Sears Canada has a new CEO, Ronald D. Boire.  His former positions are Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, and President of Sears and Kmart Formats and Sears Holding Corporation, as well as Executive Vice President at Best Buy, President at Toys R Us, Global Merchandise Manager at Sony and as President and CEO at Brookstone.  Note that all those operations are in trouble.

News reports that on 26 January 2015, ‘put options’ trading of Sears Holdings skyrocketed by 518%!  Put options are when stockholders set a date and price at which time they will automatically dump their shares of stocks.

On 21 January 2015, majority stock holder Fairholme (owned by Jewish vulture capitalist Bruce R. Berkowitz) dumped 117-thousand shares of Sears Holdings stocks!  Fariholme made more than $5-million USD off the dump!

After four years, Sofia Vergara is ending her relationship with Kmart.  The actress is taking her clothing line elsewhere and is “looking forward to pursuing new opportunities in the apparel world”.

update, 26 January 2015: Kmart to be split up & sold off?

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).

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).

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).

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).

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), recently revealed Hoffman Estates Headquarters 100 jobs eliminated, another 15 corporate jobs eliminated elsewhere! 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), recently revealed Plymouth Kmart (“approximately” 68 jobs lost).

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, 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).

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 obvious the last remaining Saginaw Kmart will remain shutdown after its roof collapsed during a snowstorm back in January 2014, 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).

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).

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).

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: Depew (Lancaster?) Kmart (68 jobs lost), Colonie Kmart (72 jobs lost), Fulton Kmart (51 jobs lost), Clifton Park Kmart (74 jobs lost), 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).

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.

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).

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).

Puerto Rico: Vega Baja Kmart (# of jobs lost not reported).

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).

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

Aeropostale closing update 27 January 2015: Insider trading revealed!

U.S. based Aeropostale administrators revealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that their director used insider info to make a stock deal back in December.

2015 shutdowns:

Illinois: P.S. from Aeropostale shutdown in the Cherryvale Mall.

Indiana: In Carmel, Aeropostale on Clay Terrace Boulevard  shutdown on 27 January 2015.  Aeropostale shutting down in the Indiana Mall by the end of January.

Minnesota: P.S. from Aeropostale shutdown in the Crossroads Mall.

New York: Aeropostale shutting down in the Fingerlakes Mall on 29 January 2015.  Aeropostale in the dying Rotterdam Square Mall.

Ohio: P.S. from Aeropostale shutdown in the Peachtree Mall.

South Carolina: Aeropostale to shutdown in the Coastal Grand Mall.

Tennessee: Aeropostale shutdown in the Knoxville Center Mall on 27 January 2015.

Virginia: P.S. from Aeropostale shutdown in the Patrick Henry Mall.

2014 shutdowns:

Wisconsin: Bayshore Aeropostale.

Canada: Aeropostale shutdown its last seven stores in Quebec.

2013 shutdowns:

Canada: 27 Aeropostale stores shutdown.

 

Aeropostale  Shutdowns will continue

Business/Economics

Shopko closing update 27 January 2015: Rite Aid buys Shopko pharmacy ops?

Illinois has joined the shutdown list.  The Sullivan Shopko will be slammed shut by April, the store manager told local news media his store wasn’t making enough money.

According to a Wisconsin news outlet Rite Aid has made it clear they’ve taken over Shopko’s pharmacy operations: “…we had a seamless transition with acquiring Shopko’s pharmacy…”-Kristin Kellum

2015 shutdowns (revealed so far):

Illinois: Two years old Sullivan Shopko in April, at least 30 jobs lost.

Kentucky: Hodgenville Shopko Hometown store will shutdown in April.

Missouri: Tarkio Shopko Hometown store will shutdown in April.

Ohio: Shopko to shutdown its Greenfield, Archbold, Montpelier and Newton Falls stores by April, at least 70 jobs will be affected.

South Dakota: Avera FastCare health clinic located inside the Aberdeen Shopko shutdown. Local news reports said there are currently no plans to replace it.

Utah: Employees spreading the word that the Provo Shopko will shutdown by 15 April 2015. Also, reports that the Bountiful (apparently actually located in West Bountiful even though the address is in Bountiful?) Shopko will shutdown in April.

Wisconsin: Shopko will shutdown its Ashland Hometown store by April, at least 29 jobs lost.

Of importance, a major retail landlord just modified its lease agreement with Shopko. The deal makes it easier for Spirit Realty Capital to evict Shopko in favor of new tenants (Shopko also got paid $18.8-million for the inconvenience of being kicked out). The retail landlord said it wanted to reduce its reliance on Shopko for revenue!

2014 shutdowns (that I’ve found so far):

Wisconsin: ShopKo killed off 40 jobs at its Ashwaubenon corporate HQ. Company administrators blame the bad economy for their “reorganization”. A Madison store was shutdown, 66 jobs lost.

Ohio: Georgetown Shopko shutdown.

Indiana: Shopko issued a WARN in November saying it will shutdown a distribution center. The shutdown will be completed by September 2015, at least 95 jobs lost. A Loogootee Shopko was shutdown, at least 14 jobs lost. The Petersburg and Bloomfield Shopkos were also shutdown.

It should be noted that Shopko has been quietly and slowly shutting down stores since 2001.

shopko opens new store in idaho then announces shutdowns

Business/Economics

Cerberus sells-off California & Idaho based grocery stores! 146 stores affected, shutdowns already announced!

27 January 2015 (19:48 UTC-07 Tango 26 January 2015)/06 Rabi ‘ath-Thani 1436/07 Bahman 1393/08 Yi-Chou (12th month) 4712

In 2014 evil Cerberus Capital concluded a hostile $9.2-billion USD takeover of California based Safeway.  The hostile takeover, which was challenged in court, was done through Idaho based Albertsons.  Safeway was the second largest grocery store owner in the U.S., the Safeway family of grocery stores include California’s iconic Vons, and Mexico’s Casa Ley.  It should be noted that part of the hostile takeover agreement is that Cerberus must sell off Safeway owned grocery store chains.   Now Cerberus has sold off dozens of Vons.

In January 2013 evil Cerberus Capital Management became sole owner of Idaho based Albertsons. 14 stores were shut down in 2013,  another 26 Albertsons were shutdown by the end of February 2014.  Now, Cerberus has sold off dozens more Albertsons stores, as a result of the takeover of Safeway.

Cerberus has sold 146 Vons and Albertsons stores to a Washington based company called Haggen.  The affected stores are located in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.  Already WARNs (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications) have been issued in California announcing the shutdown of several grocery stores.

This is interesting because at the beginning of January a Haggen spokeswoman said this: “The stores will remain open during the conversions and there are no plans to close any stores. In California, I would expect to see conversions more toward July.”-Deborah Pleva

Oregon: Safeway shutting down their Clackamas regional office, due to the takeover by Cerberus owned Albertsons. 91 jobs lost by March.

California WARN list:

Arcadia Vons Pavillion SuperStore, shutdown on 18 March 2015, at least 168 jobs lost!

The 32 years old Hemet Vons shutdown on 28 December 2014, at least 55 jobs lost.  Company administrators claimed it had nothing to do with the hostile takeover by Cerberus.

Marina Del Ray Albertsons, shutdown on 26 February 2015, at least 80 jobs lost.

Pleasanton Safeway headquarters will layoff at least 26 people by 13 February 2015.

San Diego Albertsons, shutdown on 26 February 2015, at least 63 jobs lost.

Albertsons shutting down?

Pocatello’s Old Fred Meyer & Albertsons…did not close down in the 1990s