BUSINESS INSIDER: Toys R Us is preparing to close all its stores, and liquidation sales will start as soon as Thursday in some locations.
The company has notified workers that stores and warehouses in several states — including Wisconsin, New Jersey, Missouri, Hawaii, and Georgia — will shut down by May 14, according to WARN Act filings reviewed by Business Insider.
The WARN Act, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide advance notice of mass layoffs.
Liquidation sales at some of the affected stores will start as soon as Thursday, according to Toys R Us store employees reached by phone on Monday. One employee told Business Insider that stores were told they would close as soon as all of the merchandise was sold.
In a letter dated March 15, which was delivered by FedEx to some of Toys R Us’ 31,000 employees, Toys R Us said financing requirements and “disappointing” holiday sales in the US and Europe “presented challenges that the company could not overcome.”
“The company is now moving forward to liquidate all of its US operations and close all of its retail locations in the US,” the letter says. “Based on the best available information, the company believes that your employment will be terminated on May 14, 2018.”
The letter states that employees will be paid through May 14 but will not receive severance.
Toys R Us declined to comment on specific dates for store closures and sales.
The company is hoping to find a buyer for its Canadian business and 200 of its most profitable US stores. The fate of Toys R Us could be decided during a bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia.
Toys 'R' Us Closing Down All U.S. Stores
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