David’s Bridal is laying off more than 9,000 workers, including many in the Philadelphia area, and the company may be sold.
The Conshohocken-based wedding dress chain said in a notice to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it will lay off 9,236 people across the United States. The exact number for Penn State wasn’t available until Friday.
“We are evaluating our strategic options and the sale process is ongoing. At this time, there are no updates to share,” said company spokeswoman Laura McIver.
Across the state, 15 locations will be affected, the notice said, including six stores in suburban Philadelphia. A company spokesperson did not respond to questions Friday about whether those stores would remain open. The first round of layoffs occurred on Thursday, and two more will take place in May and June. While the exact company-wide employee count is not clear, it appears to be about 11,000 In the last years.
On Wednesday afternoon, corporate employees received an invitation to a virtual company-wide meeting on Thursday morning, and were instructed to work remotely for the day. They were told during that meeting that David’s Bridal was trying to get a buyer, but if no other option could be found, the other option would be liquidation, according to two people who were present but did not want to be identified because they were afraid of compromising. their career prospects.
The New York Times reported last week that the company was Consider filing for bankruptcy protection for the second time in five years, indicating that sales of wedding-related merchandise have not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, even as people return to staging large events. At the time, McIver said the company would not comment on the speculation.
David’s wedding only I got out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy In early 2019.
The company celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2020 It has more than 300 storesmostly in the United States with a few in Mexico and Canada.
McIver added, “As always, providing excellent service remains our focus, and we are committed to serving and delivering to our brides and clients and to being a part of magical moments.”
Will David’s wedding stop working?
There are no signs of David’s Bridal going out of business and it’s too early to tell if a sale of the company will result in store closures. When David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy in 2018, the company said it would keep stores open and continue to serve customers. Leadership stated that it did when the company appeared from bankruptcy in 2019.
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