An Unexpected Company in Ohio is Now Laying Off Hundreds

June 19, 2024

An unexpected company in Ohio is now laying off hundreds according to a new WARN notice filed with the state.

It’s important to note that under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, an employer with more than 100 full-time workers is required to provide a 60-day notice before laying off 50 or more people at a single site.

This week Xeilia Pharmaceuticals filed a notice with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services advising they were laying off a total of 214 staff in Bedford.

“Xellia Pharmaceuticals…recently announced its agreement for the sale of its assets to Hikma Pharmaceuticals.

In connection with the Transaction, Xellia anticipates a permanent layoff of approximately 247 U.S. employees (of which 214 work in Xellia’s Bedford location),” the company reported in its filing.

“All affected employees have been notified of their expected separation dates and that their separation from employment is expected to be permanent,” the company said.

“Affected employees do not have bumping rights.

Xellia does not recognize strict seniority rights but may take seniority into consideration as a factor in determining which employees to lay off and the timing of each employee’s layoff.

Employees are not represented by a union.”

Ohio’s Melt Bar & Grilled recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The beloved grilled cheese restaurant, which opened its first location in Lakewood in 2006, gained national attention after being featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and the Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food”.

It was known for its designer spin on grilled cheese sandwiches and range of local craft beers.

Despite its initial success and aggressive expansion, the chain has struggled to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At its peak, Melt Bar & Grilled operated 13 locations across Ohio and generated over $18 million in annual sales.

However, the pandemic forced the company to reduce its operations to takeout and delivery, significantly affecting its revenue.

While the restaurants reopened in August 2020, sales did not return to pre-pandemic levels.

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Other Economy News Today

Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.

Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.

That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.

US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.

Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.

Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.

“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”

“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.

While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”

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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoff in Virginia

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