At least 177 employees were laid off at stores in the Gilroy Premium Outlets since early April, state filings show, as “non-essential” businesses across the country fight to stay alive during a pandemic-induced shutdown.
Rosewood CordeValle in San Martin, meanwhile, laid off 263 employees on March 17, the date Santa Clara County’s shelter-in-place order went into effect.
Companies that employ at least 75 workers are required by state law to give employees at least a 60-day notice of layoffs or closures under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN notice must also be submitted to the state.
However, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 17 executive order suspended the 60-day notice temporarily due to Covid-19.
The Gilroy Premium Outlets, which includes nearly 120 stores, has been closed since March 17.
PVH Corp, which operates outlets clothing stores such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, laid off 97 workers on April 6, which was classified as a temporary layoff according to the WARN filing.
Other temporary layoffs in the outlets included 32 at Carter’s Retail, 28 each at Clarks and Hennes & Mauritz, and eight at Lacoste.
Outside of the outlets, Black Bear Diner laid off 50 workers, and 41 employees were affected at Burlington Coat Factory. Knighted Ventures, which operates Garlic City Casino, laid off 42 employees, filings show.
These numbers, however, do not encompass the total amount of employees laid off because of the economic downturn, as employers with less than 75 workers do not have to file a notice.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) processed 615,809 unemployment benefit claims and paid $4.5 billion in benefits during the week ending on May 2. In total, since the week ending March 14, the EDD processed a total of 4.1 million claims for benefits and paid a total of $8.9 billion in benefit payments.
Data for Santa Clara County has not yet been released.
