True Value prepares for potential layoffs while awaiting pending sale of company
Chicago-based hardware retailer True Value is preparing to possibly lay off nearly 900 employees in Illinois if it can't finalize a deal to sell itself to competitor Do It Best.
True Value, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, said it could lay off 873 employees starting mid-December at its corporate headquarters, a warehouse and manufacturing plant in the Chicago area, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
True Value’s 4,500 stores, including 10 in Chicago, are independently owned, except for one company-owned store in Palatine. None of the stores are targeted for potential layoffs.
The layoffs may not happen if the sale to Do It Best is approved by regulators, according to a statement True Value filed with the state and cited by the Chicago Tribune.
“While we remain committed to successfully completing the Chapter 11 sale process, we are notifying you of actions that True Value may need to take if we do not close the proposed sale to (Do It Best) and identify other buyers,” the company stated.
The Sun-Times was unable to obtain the statement Friday from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. True Value did not respond to requests for comment about the layoffs.
True Value CEO Chris Kempa said last week that the sale would "best serve our retail partners and other stakeholders into the future."
Most companies in Illinois are required to notify the state ahead of any sizable layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
According to True Value's WARN Act filing, the potential layoffs could affect three locations: 482 employees at the company's Chicago headquarters, 8600 W Bryn Mawr Ave., 243 employees at a warehouse in suburban Harvard, and 148 employees at a manufacturing plant in Cary.
The company employs about 1,950 people nationwide, according to True Value's Delaware bankruptcy filings. About 100 people work in sales; 1,370 work in warehouse, distribution or manufacturing roles; 15 work at True Value's Palatine store; and the rest work at the corporate headquarters.