Staff and Wire Reports
Penn Traffic Co. has told state officials
it will close dozens of supermarkets in upstate
New York, including P&C; stores in
Hartwick Seminary and Norwich, which
have about 110 jobs.
The company, which has headquarters
in Syracuse, filed notice with the state Department
of Labor that 55 P&C; and Quality
Markets grocery stores and warehouses
will close effective Feb. 15.
The list includes the Cooperstown-area
P&C; at 5 Commons Drive, off state Route 28
in Hartwick Seminary, which has 45 union
jobs and two non-union positions, and the
P&C; at 54 E. Main St. in Norwich, which has
64 union and two non-union posts.
The company has said it still hopes to
raise enough money to avoid shutdowns,
according to a letter obtained by television
station WSTM in Syracuse.
A manager at the Cooperstown-
area store referred
questions to Chuck
Beeler in Syracuse, who
said Tuesday that he had
no information to release
about the status of individual
store closures.
Penn Traffic told state
officials that 4,142 employees
of its P&C; and
Quality Markets throughout
the state will be affected
when facilities
close Feb. 15.
Penn Traffic filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
last week. In addition to
its P&C; and Quality Markets
stores in upstate New
York, Penn Traffic operates
nine Quality Markets
and 33 BiLo stores in
Pennsylvania and three
P&C; stores in northern
New England. Employment
in all four states totals
about 5,700.
Penn Traffic Chief Executive
Officer Gregory
Young said Tuesday that
the company plans to sell
off its stores and other assets,
according to an Associated
Press report, and
that the stores would remain
open while a buyer
is sought.
The company has
struggled financially for
more than a decade. It
emerged from a nearly
two-year bankruptcy reorganization
in April 2005
but has continued to lose
money, the AP said. It lost
$17.6 million last year and
nearly $42 million the previous
year. The company
also went through bankruptcy
reorganization in
1999.
A P&C; on Chestnut
Street in Oneonta closed
in December 2003.
Penn Traffic filed notice
with the state Thursday as
required by New York’s
Workers Adjustment and
Retraining Notification
Act. The act is designed to
give employees, their representatives,
the Department
of Labor and the local
Workforce Investment
Board early warning of
business closings and layoffs,
and 90 days’ notice before
the closing of a plant,
mass layoff, relocation or
other covered reduction in
work hours.
Notification is to give
employment officials time
to work with an employer
to give affected employees
information about
unemployment insurance
and workforce programs,
the state Department of
Labor website said. The
WARN Act took effect
Feb. 1.
