Almost 500 Big Lots employees in Montgomery will be out of a job by mid-January.
A recent WARN notice — postings which are required by federal law to notify workers before mass layoffs — posted on Dec. 24 lists 491 planned layoffs, effective Jan. 6, for the Montgomery Big Lots Distribution Center located at 2855 Selma Highway, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce.
Big Lots, a discount store chain originating from Ohio, filed for bankruptcy back in September after noting plans to close over 340 stores . The chain had closed some stores before this as well.
Initially, Big Lots attempted to pursue a deal with Nexus Capital Management, which ended in the company announcing that they “[did] not anticipate completing” the agreement on Dec. 19, urging the chain to in turn announce a going-out-of-business sale at all remaining locations.
Then, on Dec. 27, Big Lots reached a deal with Boston-based asset liquidation firm Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer ownership of some stores to Hendersonville, North Carolina-based company named Variety Wholesalers Inc. Big Lots said in a news release that Variety Wholesalers plans to operate the 200 to 400 stores under the Big Lots brand name, as well as “up to two distribution centers.”