Layoffs begin at Fry’s; jobless claims decline

Fry’s Electronics has detailed the layoffs it has planned for some of its operations after the iconic consumer electronics retailer decided to cease its operations.

The longtime tech retailer closed all its stores two weeks ago. The San Jose-based company said coronavirus-linked economic woes and online shopping forced it to pull the plug on operations.

Fry’s so far has laid off 148 workers in San Jose, according to official notices it filed with the state Employment Development Department.

“The company will be terminating active and previously furloughed employees at the Fry’s facility located at 600 E. Brokaw Road in San Jose as a result of the permanent closure and shutdown of the facility and the company’s business as a whole,” Randy Fry, the company’s president, wrote in the notice. “This termination of employees is expected to be permanent.”

At the time of its closure, Fry’s was operating more than a dozen stores across California. So far, layoff notices reflected only two stores in the Bay Area. benefits. Counting supplemental federal unemployment programs that were established to soften the economic damage from the virus, an estimated 18 million people are collecting some form of jobless aid.