578 ShopKo Workers To Lose Jobs; Company To Close 11 WI Stores

WISCONSIN -- ShopKo officials sent a mass layoff notice to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, stating that 11 Shopko stores will be closing, resulting in the layoff of a total of 578 workers across the state.

According to the State Department of Workforce Development, stores in De Pere, Watertown, Beloit, Racine, Kimberly, Kenosha, Monona, Marinette, Sheboygan, Delavan, and Rhinelander will all close on May 6, 2019.

Here is the breakdown by city of job losses:

• 230 N. Wisconsin St., De Pere — 48 employees
• 701 S. Church St., Watertown — 50 employees
• 2761 Prairie Ave., Beloit — 58 employees
• 4801 Washington Ave., Racine — 52 employees
• 800 E. Maes Ave., Kimberly — 61 employees
• 5300 52nd St., Kenosha — 52 employees
• 2101 W. Broadway, Monona — 56 employees
• 2741 Rossevelt Road, Marinette — 56 employees
• 518 S. Taylor Drive, Sheboygan — 53 employees
• 1450 E. Geneva St., Delavan — 52 employees
• 2200 Lincoln St., Rhinelander — 40 employees

Shopko is closing 70 percent of its stores across the U.S. after it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to company officials, Shopko has 42 Wisconsin stores on its list of ones that have either closed, or are in the process of closing.

State DWD Secretary-Designee Caleb Frostman released the following statement in response to the announced closures:

"Shopko has been a Wisconsin institution for more than 50 years and these closures will undoubtedly change the fabric of multiple Wisconsin communities.

The Department of Workforce Development has been in communication with Shopko officials to coordinate and provide Rapid Response services to the workers affected by all Shopko closings, including those previously reported by the media and the 11 DWD received notice of today.

Those services are already underway, and further communication from DWD and our workforce development board partners will be forthcoming.

These layoffs will impact hundreds of hardworking Wisconsinites across our state in several Wisconsin communities.

With ever-changing consumer habits, retail workers are becoming more and more insecure in their employment, and today's announcement, along with last year's layoffs by Bon-Ton, demonstrate that we must champion policies that provide the workers of Wisconsin the ability to re-train as our economy continues to evolve.

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