A new wave of unexpected layoffs in Arizona now hits thousands as more businesses file WARN notices advising of upcoming job cuts.
In the past week, Arizona has experienced a wave of mass retail store closures, which has in turn led to significant job losses across the state.
It’s important to note that under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, companies with more than 100 full-time employees are required to provide 60 days’ advance notice before implementing mass layoffs of 50 or more workers at a single location.
This regulation has come into play as two major retailers have filed WARN notices with the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Conn’s Home Plus, a home furnishings and electronics retailer, is shutting down a total of 12 of its stores in the state, resulting in a total of 240 employees losing their jobs.
Additionally, Big Lots, a discount retail chain, is also closing several of its Arizona locations, leading to a total of 299 staff members being laid off.
These recent WARN notice filings are the latest developments in a series of job cuts that have impacted the Arizona economy in recent weeks.
The mass retail store closures and the resulting layoffs add to the growing list of employment losses occurring across the state.
The situation also highlights the broader challenges facing the retail industry, as consumer behavior and market dynamics continue to evolve.
These large-scale job losses can have significant ripple effects on local economies and communities, underscoring the need for ongoing support and retraining initiatives to help displaced workers find new employment opportunities.
However, Conn’s and Big Lots aren’t the only businesses who have advised of upcoming layoffs in Arizona.
Below is a list of other businesses laying off in the state this year:
- Newrez is laying off 78 staff members in Tempe.
- Schuff Steel will lay off a total of 63 staff.
- Northrop Grumman has advised that a total of 543 employees in Chandler will lose their job.
- Panera Bread announced the upcoming closure of its dough-making facility in Chandler, which will result in the layoff of 64 employees.
- Evernorth Care Group is laying off 261 staff in Scottsdale
- TuSimple is laying off staff in Tucson
- Kalil Bottling Company is laying off 546 staff in Tucson
- All of us Research Program is laying off 45 staff in Phoenix
- Obvio Health is laying off 51 staff
- Walmart is laying off 74 staff in Phoenix
- Savers are laying off 42 staff in Phoenix
- Devine Holdings is laying off staff in Mohave Valley
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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 Layoffs in Virginia
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