Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

California: San Francisco based “creative agency” Goodby Silverstein & Partners laying off an undisclosed number of people in The Golden State and New York.  In Burbank, god refused to stop Obama Care from shutting down ‘his’ Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center blood donor service, 34 jobs lost.   State employment administrators stopped posting WARNs on 21 May.

Colorado: Boulder based Fresh Produce women’s clothing chain shutting down 12 stores in six states, as part of their chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Florida: Clothier Izod shutdown its Palm Beach Gardens store, then announced their Palm Beach Outlets store will shutdown in June.  It’s part of the parent company’s plan to shutdown 1-hundred Izod stores!  After 43 years Brasington’s Adventure Outfitters shutdown. The owner said 2008, the year of the start of the recession, was their best year but then sales crashed and never recovered.   In Jacksonville, after 30 years Benny’s Sandwich Shop shutdown due to the owner’s health problems.  State employment administrators stopped posting WARNs on 15 May.

Illinois: In Granite City, US Steel has suspended its plans to shutdown its Granite City Works factory.  Instead, 80 employees will be laid off.

Indiana:  Muncie Community Schools warned of layoffs, even after selling off their Wilson Junior High School building.   Administrators said that because of what I call Disappearing Student Syndrome, and years of consolidation ops, their Central High School is now overstaffed.  In Richmond, after 27 years Optical Disc Solutions has been sold to WTS Media and will be shutdown.

Iowa: In Davenport, the more than 20 years old Flowerama store shutdown.  The parent company, Flowerama of America, was taken over by 1-800-Flowers in 2011.

Kansas: Kansas City Public Schools laid off 31 employees and cut pay for hundreds of others, blaming $2-million USD in state taxpayer funding cuts.

Maryland: Baltimore City School District laid off 209 employees!  Administrators blame a $108-million shortfall.  Restaurant Langermann’s of Baltimore now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Owners blame ‘Freddie Gray’ social unrest as the final straw in their ongoing financial nightmare.  In Frederick, God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ 1-hundred years old Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church.  Attendance was down to less than 13 per week, and administrators said “They were just not going to be able to pay their bills.”  

Massachusetts:  In Cambridge, the award winning Hungry Mother restaurant being shutdown in July due to one of the co-owners leaving, and the other co-owners deciding to try something else.

Michigan: The Garden City School Board laid off 46 teachers, blaming Disappearing Student Syndrome (DSS) for putting the district into a $4-million hole.    Marshall Public Schools laid off eight people.  Another seven employees are being pushed into retirement.  Administrators say enrollment is fine and blame the layoffs on state taxpayer funding cuts and the loss of grant money.

Minnesota: State administrators warned 9-thousand 5-hundred state employees that their jobs are on the chopping block!  Local news reports said Democrats called it a “bad day”, while Republicans called it a “good day”!  It’s what I call a Failed State!   Minneapolis based Too Big to Jail US Bank (Bancorp) warned of mass layoffs if the Federal Reserve failed to jack up interests rates.

New Jersey: Sussex County Community College eliminating 11 jobs.  Administrators blame a new $3-million renovation project for the Student Center, and five years of DSS.  They expect to lose $1.2-million in the upcoming school year due to crashing student enrollment.

New York: The largest Too Big to Jail bank in the U.S., NYC based JP Morgan Chase, began mass layoffs across the country that will total more than 5-thousand by the end of 2016!   In Commack, import/export company CBC America issued a WARN saying they are joining the exodus from The Empire State.  46 jobs to be moved to North Carolina by the end of the year.   At John F. Kennedy International Airport, Envoy Air issued a mass layoff WARN saying 693 jobs will be lost as they join the exodus from The Empire State and move ops to Texas and Illinois!  The Commission on Economic Opportunity issued a WARN saying they are shutting down their Stepping Stones Two childcare center in Rensselaer, 34 jobs lost in August.

North Carolina: In Winston-Salem, after almost four years District Roof Top Bar & Grille shutdown, the owners blame the un-recovered economy: “It takes time, resources and a bit of luck to establish a restaurant. In our case it was just one winter season too many.”-Mark Skoggard, co-owner

North Dakota: Texas based Warren Buffet owned BNSF Railway  began furloughing employees due to crashing demand for North Dakota Oil Patch shipments by rail.  In Fargo, Case IH and New Holland farm equipment maker CNH Industrial laid off 38 people.  Back in February they laid off 80 employees.  In 2014  they laid off 40 people.

Oklahoma: In Tulsa, after nearly 80 years Triplets children’s shoe store shutdown.

Pennsylvania: Connellsville Area School District laid off 40 teachers.  What I call Disappearing Student Syndrome (DSS) is the cause.  Reporters with WPXI did some math and discovered that the district lost 1-thousand 3-hundred students in the past ten years!  In Gettysburg, after 33 years Wentz Stained Glass Studio shutdown.

South Carolina: After 95 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) Pruitt’s Grocery shutdown due to the owner’s poor health.

Virginia:  In Orange, after 19 years the Dairy Korner Restaurant shutdown.

24 – 27 May 2015: New word for layoffs is ‘synergies’, “…and unfortunately for a lot of people today we’re realizing those synergies.” 

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

California: California’s The PennySaver shutdown after 50 years of publication (there are many other independent ‘pennysaver’ publications throughout the U.S.)!  Employee Luann Benton told local news media “We had no idea the company was going to shutdown!”  It’s blamed on last year’s takeover by vulture capitalist Open Gate.   In San Bernardino, after 67 years the owners of The Mug restaurant announced it will shutdown in June. Loyal customers call it “a huge icon”. Local news reports said the owner would not explain why it was being shutdown, but employees explained that the area has been losing businesses for several years now, and that’s negatively impacted the number of people that check out the restaurant (in other words, sales have crashed).  The San Diego Union Tribune laid off 178 truck drivers, machinists, electricians, packagers circulation, sales, finance and pressroom workers!  Most employees said it came without warning.  It’s blamed on the takeover by Tribune Publishing, and resulting consolidation of operations to Los Angeles, at the same place the Los Angeles Times is published.  Company administrators tried to say they warned employees, but the problem is they called impending layoffs “synergies”: “When the two companies announced that they were coming together, we said at the time there were going to be some synergies, and unfortunately for a lot of people today we’re realizing those synergies.”-Russ Newton, president San Diego Union Tribune

Colorado: In Longmont, the legal drugs seller Walgreens announced it will shutdown its Main Street  store in June. Company administrators would only say “We are closing a number of stores that are underperforming around the country.” 

Illinois: Closeout retailer Tuesday Morning announced it is shutting down its Rockford store in July.

Louisiana:  In Metairie, a greedy landlord shutdown the 38 years old Tiffin Inn Pancake House. The property owner signed a new contract with a home decor chain store.

Maine: Catalyst Paper says it must “temporarily” layoff 50 employees.  A temporary layoff is basically what’s known as a furlough.  However, there’s a possibility the temp layoff could become permanent as company administrators said they will be “re-evaluating the situation throughout the summer”.  The company makes paper for magazines, and with all the magazine shutdowns orders are crashing.

Michigan: In Northville, the owners of Riffle’s Homestyle Kitchen announced it will shutdown in June. After 31 years they said they’ve finally realized you can’t provided quality food while competing against the low prices of ‘Big Box’ restaurants, so “Rather than cut corners or raise prices, we’ve elected to move on to other endeavors.”

Minnesota: Indiana based Steel Dynamics shutdown two pig iron ops, one in Hoyt Lakes and the other in Chisholm, at least 2-hundred jobs lost!  To give you an idea how long this so called ‘recovered’ economy is going to last, Steel Dynamics said the layoffs would be in effect for at least two years!  Minnesota’s Iron Range ops have seen employers eliminate more than 1-thousand jobs so far this year!  Obama Care medical device tax forcing Minnetonka based IMRIS (Innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems) to go chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  Reports say the company could be taken over by vulture capitalist Deerfield Management.

Mississippi: In Hamilton, chemical company Tronox will shutdown one of two sodium chlorate factories this year, 70 jobs lost.  The chemical is used in the paper industry and Tronox administrators say orders from paper companies have crashed.

New Jersey: Crashing & burning Atlantic City conducted a second round of school district cuts, laying off 75 more employees.  It was also revealed that more than 30 employees were forced to resign or retire early.  City administrators warned that a third round of layoffs is in the works.  Gerresheimer Glass announced it will shutdown its Millville factory by the end of the year, 1-hundred more jobs lost!   They already laid off 115 factory workers back in January! Administrators say the bad economy is forcing them to consolidate operations.

New York: In Jamaica, milk products distributor Derle Farms issued a shutdown WARN saying they are moving operations to Bathpage by September, 72 employees will be affected.  Evil financial advisor PricewaterhouseCoopers issued a WARN saying they are shutting down their Albany office in August, 38 jobs lost.

Ohio: Sweden based Johnson Metall announced it will shutdown its Lorain ops in July, at least 35 jobs lost.  Local news reports say at one point there were more than 1-hundred employees at the industrial parts factory.  Company administrators stated “Most recently, we’ve manufactured parts for wind turbines, and then the oil and gas industry. With the decline in both of those industries, and the lack of profitable replacement work, we have seen a significant decline in customer orders and are running the facility at a loss.”

Oregon: After 20 years the operators of Oregon Coast Periodontics announced it will shutdown in June, supposedly because the owner moved to Louisiana, which they called “unfortunate circumstances”.

Pennsylvania: In Deptford, the owners of 37 years old Freeway Diner shutdown on Memorial Day. The property is being re-purposed as a strip mall.

Texas: In San Antonio, aircraft customizer GDC Technics laid off 162 people!  Ironically company administrators blamed a “growing backlog” of work for forcing them to move to Fort Worth and eliminate the 162 positions!  In Aransas Pass, off shore oil rig fabricator Gulf Marine Fabricators warned it will eliminate 554 jobs!

Virginia: In Richmond, MARTIN’S Food Markets announced they will shutdown their 42 years old store on Staples Mill Road, in July. They claim “the store has not achieved performance goals.” MARTIN’s bought the store from Ukrop in 2010.  Sears Holdings announced the Hilltop Square Shopping Center Kmart will shutdown in July, 82 jobs lost.

Washington: In Spokane, without warning the 25 years old Olive Garden restaurant shutdown by owner Darden Restaurants, 80 jobs lost overnight. Local news reports said Darden Restaurants administrators accused the Spokane Olive Garden of failing to perform.

21 – 23 May 2015: “I was stunned! It just kind of happened…”

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Arkansas: In Russelville, after 64 years Wilkins Brothers Outdoors brick-n-mortar sporting goods store shutdown. The owners said they are focusing on internet sales only.

Arizona: In Phoenix, after 59 years iconic Bill Johnson’s Big Apple restaurant shutdown, 32 jobs lost. It’s being turned into a parking lot for the worthless taxpayer supported GateWay Community College! In Mesa, after 34 years Landmark Restaurant shutdown, the building was sold to a company that specializes in weddings.

California: In Fresno, Texas based Greatwide Distribution Logistics issued a layoff WARN, 93 jobs lost in August.  News reports also said that Greatwide Distribution Logistics was eliminating 71 jobs in West Sacramento, by July.  What automotive industry recovery? In Long Beach, Japan based Toyota announced they will eliminate 95 jobs at their Auto Body California factory.  Toyota is moving some production of its Tacoma pickup truck to Texas.  The Ventura County Community Foundation laid off five employees.  LAN company Extreme Networks announced it is eliminating 285 jobs!  Company administrators are trying to cut $40-million USD in costs by relying “on our channel partners” to get the job done.

Indiana: Is Obama Care the reason why 67 Goodwill employees suddenly lost their jobs at the Richard K. Roudebush VA Medical Center?   Goodwill administrators said that “Specifically, the Medical Center unexpectedly ended its longstanding contractual relationship with Goodwill without any prior notice of performance problems.”  They also hinted at Obama Care, blaming “unforeseeable business circumstances”.

Iowa: In Sioux City, after 73 years farm equipment maker Soo Tractor Sweep-Rake is shutting down, 53 jobs lost. Company administrators blame crashing farm equipment sales.

Kansas: In Wichita, after 20 years Garcia’s Tacos shutdown.

Massachusetts: In Boston weak, Obama Care forcing Lahey Health to eliminate 130 jobs at three of its hospitals!  Administrators referred to Obama Care as “an exceedingly challenging health care environment”.   They also blamed the implementation of a new healthcare information sharing system called EPIC.

Michigan:  Obama Care forcing insurance provider HealthPlus to eliminate 5-hundred jobs!  The layoffs will begin in July.  HealthPlus is selling its Medicaid and MIChild contracts to a competitor.    In Flint, after 29 years Salvatore Scallopini restaurant shutdown without warning by the greedy landlord and city administrators, 28 jobs affected. Unbeknownst to the restaurant operator, the landlord and the city council agreed to replace the Italian restaurant with a shitty IHOP: “I was stunned! It just kind of happened and everyone found out.”-Bill Nivicki, restaurant operator

Minnesota: Hartford Financial Services eliminating 190 jobs as it shuts down its Woodbury office and consolidates to Pennsylvania!

Montana: In Helena, after 32 years The Donut Hole shutdown once and for all. Back in January the owner tried to find funding to help him move the store to a new location but nothing panned out, so the donut shop was sold to property speculators from Utah who claim they will turn it into a coffee shop.

New York: In Cortland, after 181 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) Apex Tool issued a shutdown WARN, 89 jobs lost between August and December.  Company administrators are joining the great exodus from The Empire State and moving production to Pennsylvania and South Carolina.  In Rouses Point, legal drugs maker Pfizer issued a shutdown WARN for December, and added that layoffs will start in August.

Ohio: In Dayton, after 23 years China Royal restaurant shutdown. The property owner blamed a grease fire as being the final straw, implying that the old buildings in Dayton need to be updated to prevent such fires.  The state’s Office of Unemployment Operations laid off 42 employees.  State administrators say it’s because Ohio’s economy is improving.  Then, right as state ‘officials’ claimed the economy was good, the country’s largest private coal producer, Ohio based Murray Energy/American Energy, announced 1-thousand 8-hundred job cuts!  That’s on top of the 214 job cuts the company made in West Virginia back in April!  Murray Energy also operates mines in Illinois, Kentucky and Utah.

Tennessee: Sears Holdings announced a Sears store & Auto Center will shutdown in August. Its location, the Bellevue Center mall, is being torn down to make a massive apartment complex, hotel and smaller retail shops.  At least 44 jobs lost.

Texas: Houston based FMC Technologies announced at least 59 layoffs planned for its Schilling Robotics locations in California, Texas and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Virginia: Babcock & Wilcox laid off 10 employees at its nuclear division in Lynchburg.

Washington: Ace Hardware shutdown in Mill Plain. The evil property owner (Killian Pacific) kicked them out so they could demolish the Garrison Square shopping center.  Other businesses that will be affected by the “major rebranding of the property” are Planet Fitness, Manning Academy Beauty School and Spa, and Mexico Lindo Restaurant.

18 – 20 May 2015: “healthcare services for our communities will be reduced and disrupted” 

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”