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A round of painful store closures now hits New Jersey as another major grocery chain announces it is shuttering nearly a dozen stores.

Recent announcements regarding the closure of Stop & Shop locations in New Jersey have not caught shoppers by surprise.

Many had anticipated these shutdowns, although they now have a few weeks left to stock up on essentials.

In a press release from July, the supermarket chain revealed plans to close 32 stores nationwide by the end of 2024, with at least 10 of those in New Jersey.

Residents in the Garden State have until November 2 to shop at these stores before they permanently close.

However, some locations may shut down sooner; for instance, a Stop & Shop in Philipsburg closed last week after moving its closing date up to October 23, following an earlier change to September 9, according to TAPinto.

Managers at this store reported depleting food and merchandise supplies faster than expected, suggesting similar situations could arise at the remaining locations.

Community reactions vary, with some customers expressing sadness over the closures, while others show indifference or relief.

One shopper noted the challenges posed by nearby competitors like Target and Walmart, stating, “I’m surprised it lasted this long.”

Conversely, another customer commented, “Good riddance.”

Stop & Shop has confirmed that employees at the closing stores will have the option to transfer within the company.

Despite the closures, the chain will maintain 48 stores across New Jersey, as indicated on their website.

The remaining store shutdowns will affect locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island.

With over 350 stores in five states, Massachusetts boasts the highest number at 124.

Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, reassured customers that the company remains dedicated to serving the communities where they operate.

“Stop & Shop is proud of the deep roots and community ties we have developed as a neighborhood grocer of more than 100 years,” he stated, emphasizing the commitment to their associates and customers.

Reid also noted that the 32 closing stores were deemed “underperforming,” a decision aimed at creating a healthier foundation for future growth.

He acknowledged that the company is “not where we want to be.”

This wave of closures comes amid broader trends in retail, as other major retailers face their own challenges.

Big Lots has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leading to the planned shutdown of 315 stores across 35 states, while a Home Depot rival is set to close over 200 locations after filing for bankruptcy in August.

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A massive rental company with 34k locations now shuts down its operations after filing for bankruptcy and 22 years in business.

Users of movie rental company Redbox were left saddened after it was announced that it would be shutting down operations.

The announcement comes after the rental company’s parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to court documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Connecticut-based company claimed to be one billion dollars in debt.

As a result, Redbox, which was a staple of many grocery stores including Walgreens, and CVS will be shuttered.

Many fans took to social media to express how upset they were with the loss.

“I knew it was coming, sadly,” UltraVada wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“It was inevitable,” a second person mourned.

“I knew this would happen when I heard they filed for Bankruptcy but its still sad to hear. I have a lot of fun memories of Redbox,” a third person lamented.

“I still don’t think this will be or ever be the end of physical media as we do still get remasters of some movies in 4k/Bluray.”

One person revealed that they had forgotten the rental service had existed.

Some users were not surprised by the announcement.

“Not surprised since nobody really rents videos anymore with the rise of streaming and what not,” one user admitted.

“Also kinda remember getting into a feud with them on here.”

One user also pointed out that the last remaining Blockbuster, located in Bend, Oregon, managed to outlive Redbox.

Redbox was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) in 2022 and became one of the company’s flagship video-on-demand streaming services.

At its peak, CSSE operated more than 20,000 DVD rental kiosks across the country.

The company’s filing means that the company’s more than 1,000 employees will be laid off, per The Wall Street Journal.

It was also reported by Deadline that many employees at CSSE hadn’t received their paychecks and had medical benefits cut in late June.

Also Read: This Massive Mall Retailer Is Now Closing In California

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Fulton Bank is now cutting 111 roles in New Jersey following the acquisition of the failed Republic First Bank.

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based lender plans to restructure some of the eliminated roles into new positions while retaining some employees whose jobs have been cut.

Following the recent acquisition of Republic Bank, which brought in over 300 new team members, many of whom had overlapping roles with existing corporate staff, the company eliminated redundant positions.

Steve Trapnell, a spokesperson for Fulton, stated via email to Banking Dive that some of the eliminated roles would be transformed into entirely new positions, and they hope to keep some affected employees.

The layoffs, primarily impacting staff at the lender’s Mount Laurel, New Jersey location, will take place between November 11 and December 27, as noted in a notice filed with the state’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

Fulton, which has approximately $30 billion in assets, has restructured its credit and commercial teams as part of the FultonFirst transformation, leading to further layoffs.

Trapnell mentioned that the bank employs over 3,500 individuals.

In July, Fulton’s board decided to close 13 branches and consolidate operations into nearby locations, with those closures expected around November 22, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following these branch closures, Fulton Financial Corp. anticipates reducing annual pre-tax operating costs by about $8 million starting in the first quarter of next year, although it will incur around $1 million in future severance expenses.

In April, Fulton agreed to acquire all assets and deposits of the struggling Philadelphia lender Republic First after the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities closed Republic First and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as the receiver.

This acquisition ended a period of internal conflict within Republic First and enabled Fulton to expand into New York and double its presence in Philadelphia.

Additionally, Fulton is set to welcome a new CFO next week.

Rick Kraemer, the former treasurer and deputy CFO of Valley Bank, will join Fulton on Tuesday and assume CFO responsibilities starting next quarter.

“Fulton Bank remains a strong, stable organization committed to the customers and communities it serves,” Trapnell stated.

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Citibank now fires a whistleblower for ‘underperformance’, after the former employee provided records requested by the OCC.

Citi has filed a countersuit against its former employee, Kathleen Martin, alleging that she was terminated not for refusing to falsify records for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as she claimed in her lawsuit from May, but rather for being unable to properly fulfill the duties of her role.

Martin, who was let go from her position as Citi’s interim data transformation chair in September 2023 after nearly two years with the bank, had alleged in her lawsuit that she was fired for not agreeing to Chief Operating Officer Anand Selva’s request to conceal information from the OCC that would make the lender “look bad.”

In a revised lawsuit, Kathleen Martin has accused Citi’s Chief Operating Officer Anand Selva of intentionally deceiving the bank by wanting to misrepresent Citi’s compliance metrics to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Martin claims Selva sought to conceal information from the OCC that would have made the bank “look bad.”

However, Citi maintains that Martin’s termination in September 2023 was not due to her refusal to falsify records, but rather because she lacked the necessary “leadership and engagement skills” to effectively execute the role of interim Data Transformation Chair, which she had been appointed to after the previous chair, Rob Casper, departed the company.

Citi asserts that during Martin’s interviews and assessment for the interim role, it was identified that she needed to improve in areas like her “dogmatic nature, lack of innovation and lack of experience driving the execution of complex change across Citi.”

Once Casper left, Citi’s senior leadership, including COO Selva, determined that Martin could not successfully fulfill the demands of the interim chair position.

According to Citi, COO Anand Selva tried to help the plaintiff, Kathleen Martin, improve her performance in the interim Data Transformation Chair role.

Selva allegedly set up one-on-one meetings and working groups to facilitate better collaboration and working relationships with stakeholders.

Selva’s HR team also provided Martin with a senior mentor to support her development.

In May 2023, Citi leadership discussed a plan to improve Martin’s performance.

In July, Selva conveyed Martin’s mid-year review before she raised any concerns about his behavior.

Soon after, Martin contacted HR and expressed fears about her job security.

Citi claims that Martin “felt her position was at risk,” but the bank asserts that internal documents showed she “exceeded expectations” and that CEO Jane Fraser had commended her for her “gravitas” and ability to build “strong relationships” at the bank.

However, Citi says Martin failed to heed the feedback provided, and she was ultimately removed from the Data Transformation Chair role because she lacked the “executive level relationships” and leadership needed to successfully execute the data transformation efforts.

Citi says the data transformation work was too critical for the bank to tolerate Martin’s underperformance.

Citi denies Martin’s claims that she protested the reporting of a key metric accurately or that Selva objected to it.

The bank says Selva and Martin met in September 2023 to discuss reporting certain metrics using red, amber, and green scales.

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