True Value RDCs Prepare for Potential Shutdown 

The True Value regional distribution centers (RDCs) are preparing for potential layoffs and shutdowns in light of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy and potential Do it Best purchase announcements earlier this month. So far, 11 of the 13 True Value RDCs have received Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices. 

WARN notices protect workers, their families and communities by requiring employers with 100 or more employees to provide written notice of closure or layoffs at least 60 days before the closure or layoffs are set to occur. 

True Value announced in early July that starting Nov. 1, the Denver RDC will no longer service retailers but transition to storing network inventory and facilitating inter-company transfers. The RDC also received a WARN notice in early August for 49 potential employee layoffs. 

In July, True Value also shared that the RDC in Manchester, New Hampshire, would close at the end of 2024, with the RDC in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, becoming the hub for the Northeast. However, the Wilkes-Barre RDC received a WARN notice Oct. 21 with 269 potential employees impacted.

Three True Value locations in Illinois were issued WARN notices on Oct. 16 for a total of 873 employees potentially impacted. 

Other RDCs that received WARN notices this week and the potential number of employees impacted include:

• Cleveland, Ohio: 89 employees
• Kansas City, Missouri: 69 employees
• Kingman, Arizona: 62 employees
• Corsicana, Texas: 107 employees
• Woodland, California: 56 employees

As of press time, the RDCs in Mankato, Minnesota, and Springfield, Oregon, had not received any WARN notices according to those state’s reporting systems. 

In the WARN notice letter sent to the Ohio Office of Workforce Development, True Value senior vice president, chief human resources officer Irma Quintana says,”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 who will both address the Company’s debt and allow us to continue to operate as a going concern and avoid layoffs.”

Quintana also stated in the letter “Our primary goal throughout our strategic evaluation process has been—and remains—preserving jobs and avoiding or postponing facility closures. We believe the Chapter 11 sale process is the best path to do so.”

Follow along with all of the True Value bankruptcy news:

• Judge Shares Concerns With Direction of True Value Bankruptcy Filing
• True Value Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Do it Best Bids to Acquire Assets
• Do it Best CEO Adds New Insights to True Value Purchase Plans
• NHPA Offers Tools, Reassurances to Retailers Potentially Impacted by True Value Bankruptcy
• Industry Reacts to True Value Bankruptcy and Potential Sale to Do it Best
• Bankruptcy Judge Allows True Value to Use Cash Collateral While Lenders Push Back