The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Kmart will know before April 24 the exact number of its 141 employees it will lay off at its Terre Haute store, as it transitions from a Super Kmart to a Big Kmart.
Last month, company officials announced the store would be downsized, removing a grocery section from the store to cut costs.
The store, at 4651 S. U.S. 41, would also cease its 24-hour-a-day operation to a schedule of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development received a WARN (Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act notice on Feb. 19. In that notice, the company stated that the Terre Haute Kmart store “will begin construction to change formats and we expect mass layoffs after the construction has completed.”
“Terminations are expected to occur during a 14-day period,” the company stated, starting April 24 and continuing through May 7.
In addition, the company stated, “There are no bumping rights for employees affected by this store closing.”
The notice lists at least 141 employees. However, Kimberly Freely, spokeswoman for Sears Holding Corp., said the company had to list all workers at the store, as it had not yet determined how many workers would be impacted.
“It will be much less than that, it will only be the grocery section,” Freely said.
“We have not made a determination of what we will do with that space yet,” Freely said.
