AUSTIN, Texas — As the world adjusts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, thousands have been laid off in the Austin area.
Experts said consumer activity (retail and personal services) and hospitality are the two sectors hit first and hardest by the virus. And the City of Austin is seeing the impacts strongest in sales, lodging and mixed beverage taxes.
These are some of the major layoffs in the Austin area, including companies that have sent WARN letters to the Texas Workforce Commission, companies that have confirmed layoffs to KVUE and to our partners at The Statesman.
Layoffs in Central Texas after the coronavirus outbreak:
- South by Southwest laid off a third of its employees after the 2020 cancellation
- At least half of the Circuit of America’s workforce was laid off
- The City of Hutto confirmed it laid off 48 city workers.
- The operator of Jack Allen’s Kitchen and Salt Traders Coastal Cooking told the Statesman it laid off around 500 staff members.
- The operator of the Four Seasons Hotel Austin will reportedly furlough or reduce hours for 369 workers.
- Proper Austin HM LLC, operator of Austin Proper Hotel, will furlough 194 employees. Those furloughs could become permanent, according to The Statesman.
- Sydell Hotels LLC, operator of the LINE Austin Hotel, has laid off 181 workers.
- Under Armour, which has offices in Downtown Austin, has announced it will lay off around 6,700 employees at retail stores and distribution centers across the U.S. Under Armour has outlet stores in Round Rock and San Marcos.
- JCPenney, which has four locations in the Austin area, confirmed it would furlough a significant portion of its 85,000 employees.
- Restaurant management software provider Restaurant365 has laid off 95 workers at its Austin office. Those layoffs are expected to be permanent, according to the Statesman.
- Georgetown-based Sport Clips Inc. will lay off 66 employees, according to a WARN letter.
- Start-up incubator Capital Factory has furloughed at least 40 employees, about half its staff, according to The Statesman.
- Austin-based JuiceLand said it closed 23 of its 34 locations and laid off about 225 people as revenues plunged by 80%, the Statesman reported.
- Sephora, with multiple locations across the Austin area, has laid off more than 3,000 employees across the U.S., the company announced.
- Macy’s, with two locations in the Austin area, said it was furloughing the majority of its 130,000 workers.
- Austin-based uShip said it was laying off 65 employees, more than a third of its workforce.
- Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company with several hotels in the Austin area, said it was furloughing tens of thousands of employees around the world.
- Austin legal tech start-up DISCO cut around 75 jobs, according to the Austin Business Journal.
- Restaurant group New Waterloo furloughed more than 500 employees, the Austin Business Journal reported.
Most employees who are laid off or furloughed are eligible for unemployment insurance through the Texas Workforce Commission, plus extra assistance from the federal CARES Act.
KVUE has provided resources for jobseekers, as well as a list of companies hiring in Central Texas.
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