Redbirds idle 18 as virus cools business, layoffs mount in city
Layoffs have begun to roll across metropolitan Memphis as companies struggle with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Memphis Redbirds idled 18 employees with the professional baseball season now on hold.
Including the baseball team’s employees, more than 250 people have been laid off from their jobs by companies in Memphis and Shelby County since early last week, according to Tennessee WARN alerts.
Memphis’ hospitality industry, including restaurants and hotels, accounted for most of the layoffs, as people worked from home, cut spending or were barred from going to work under a shelter-in-place edict for nonessential industries in the city.
Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, companies with more than 50 employees file a socalled WARN notice with Tennessee’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development before a mass layoff or plant closing.
In the nine-county metro area, the unemployment rate stood at 4.5% in
January, the latest month data is available.
“The unemployment rate is likely to go into the double digits,” predicted Philadelphia-area economist Joel Naroff, with March and April unemployment rolls growing “by millions more” nationwide beyond the 3.28 million unemployment insurance claims filed last week.
Here’s a look at WARN alerts filed with state officials over the last week:
❚ Memphis Redbirds idled 18 employees.
❚ Driven Brands will idle 11 employees at Top 5 Oil Change stations in Shelby and Davidson counties.
❚ Corky’s Ribs & Barbecue will temporarily lay off 61 employees in Shelby County. The restaurant chain separately said workers who aren’t rehired at its distribution center will receive weekly food packages from Corky’s.
❚ Higginbotham Family Dental will lay off 17 employees in Shelby County.
❚ Summit Management Corp. will lay off 70 hospitality employees in Shelby County.
❚ Earlier, Mckesson Pharmaceutical Solutions and Services said 79 workers in Shelby County will be idled through June 4.