AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT BIG LOTS (9/05/24)

JANUARY 1, 202 — 505 EMPLOYEES

The company will lay off 505 employees at its Rausch Creek Road distribution center located in Tremont, Pennsylvania, with layoffs starting January 6, 2025, and completed by March 31, 2025. This distribution center is one of five nationwide and the only one serving the northeastern U.S.

SEPTEMBER , 2024 — COLUMBUS, OHIO DISTRIBUTION CENTER TO CLOSE

The company will close its Columbus, Ohio, distribution center by October 31, 2024, with the loss of 379 employees.

AUGUST 8, 2024 -UPDATE — HUNDREDS OF STORES TO CLOSE (315?)

Discount chain Big Lots received approval from the Bankruptcy Court to shut down hundreds of outlets, after the company expressed “substantial doubt” on continuing business operations.

AUGUST 8, 2024 — Original post

Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots, a discount retail chain, has announced the closure of between shutter 35 to 40 stores by the end of 2024.

The closures are expected to impact hundreds of employees at all levels.

The company appears to be in financial distress according to an SEC filing, which notes, "Based on our net losses and use of cash in operating activities in 2022, 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 and our current cash and liquidity projections, we have concluded there is a significant likelihood that we will be unable to comply with the Excess Availability Covenant under the 2022 Credit Agreement and the TermLoan Facility within the next 12 months, which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result if we do not continue as a going concern.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall; why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT VINTAGE WINE ESTATES

Santa Rosa, California-based Vintage Wine Estates, a major wine producer with a portfolio of brands operating in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Napa counties, has announced a mass layoff of all employees as it enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy and attempts to sell all its assets to benefit its creditors.

Approximately 377 employees across 10 locations in four Bay Area counties are impacted by the layoff.

According to a company filing, “If the bankruptcy court approves the sale process, and if one or more buyers ultimately is approved to purchase the company’s assets, the company would cease operations and all VWE employees, at all locations, would be terminated. While we are hopeful that a buyer would hire some of the company’s workforce, we cannot be certain that will occur."

According to Chief Executive Officer Seth Kaufman, “The decreased demand resulted in a surplus of winegrape production in California vineyards, with 375,000 tons of winegrapes going unpicked. Grape growers have torn out or burned acres of vineyards to avoid maintaining unprofitable idle land.”

It also appears that the company suffered from financial engineering manipulations as it attempted to grow by acquisition.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall; why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT REALPAGE

Richardson, Texas-based RealPage, a provider of property management software and a platform that enables real estate owners and managers to gain transparency into asset performance, leverage data insights, and monetize space to create incremental yields for multifamily, commercial, single-family, and vacation rental housing industries, has experienced a 4% reduction in its workforce.

Approximately 260 employees were impacted by the personnel realignment.

The company suggested that the layoffs were routine and targeted at accelerating its business growth in 2024 and beyond, and they were not linked to class-action lawsuits alleging claims that companies artificially inflated rental prices using RealPage revenue management software.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall; why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?