CLEVELAND — As the effects of COVID-19, and the economic challenges that come with a pandemic continue to be felt across Ohio, many local companies had to make the tough decision to lay off employees as business comes to a screeching halt.
In the last two weeks, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services announced it received 468,414 unemployment claims from Ohioans. To put that into perspective, the department received 364,603 unemployment claims during the entire year in 2019.
According to the state’s Workers Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) page, here are some local companies and businesses who confirmed layoffs:
Aramark Educational Services—After it learned it would not need to provide food services at John Carroll University beyond the end of the academic year. Earlier in March, Aramark employees working at John Carroll were furloughed after abruptly closing down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those furloughs will be converted into permanent employment terminations as of May 15, 2020. According to the state, around 102 employees could potentially be affected.
Great Lakes Brewing Company— The local brewery announced it furloughed 111 employees and terminated five employees. In its filing, Chief Financial Officer Bob Centa said he hopes to rehire most, if not all, of the furloughed employees when business conditions improve.
The Westin—The downtown Cleveland hotel on St. Clair Avenue announced a “temporary closure” resulting in layoffs of around 256 employees after citing the pandemic crippled its business around the country. The hotel said it believes the layoffs are temporary. According to the filing, employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements have bumping rights.
General Aluminum—The local company laid off 212 employees from its Ravenna facility effective March 27.
International Automotive Components—The Huron company announced it will have a mass lay off on May 22 resulting in permanent job loss for 197 employees. The plant will close around July 31, 2020, resulting in additional of loss for 37 employees. The filing cited some of the employees may have bumping rights.
Other local companies that have experienced mass layoffs include JACK Entertainment, US Steel Seamless Tubular, Embassy Suites and Vantage Partners, among others.
Find the full list here.
RELATED: Record 468,414 jobless claims filed in Ohio in last 2 weeks, compared to 364,603 for all of 2019
