Tennessee labor officials disclosed that Borders Group has begun eliminating another 96 jobs from their 564,000-square-foot distribution center in La Vergne, which the Nashville Post now says will close entirely on December 23. The company has had at least two rounds of layoffs at that facility earlier in this, attributed in part to the relocation of their returns center to Pennsylvania in March and a reduction in their customer call center in August. As of a year ago the center was reported to employ more than 600 people.
We requested further clarification from the company, but have not heard back yet. Meanwhile, an online forum for Borders employees is informally collecting stories about further plans for store closings, with at least some set to wrap up in early January. The seemingly-most comprehensive account comes from an anonymous person who says they work in the finance department, indicating 29 stores in all set for closure. Others claim that list is incomplete, citing additional stores that they believe are also closing. As always, we underscore that these are anonymous, unconfirmed reports.
In October the company closed locations in Cleveland Heights, San Francisco, and Aventura, FL, and confirmed that a store in downtown Portland, OR will close soon.