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December 18, 2020

Lord & Taylor postpones layoffs until after holiday season

PHOTO | FLICKR/MIKE MOZART Lord & Taylor is closing its store at Westfarms mall in Farmington.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

The parent company of Lord & Taylor, Le Tote Inc., has notified the state that planned layoffs related to the closure of four Connecticut stores will be pushed back until after the holidays.

The company previously had indicated it would lay off 150 employees in early December at stores in Stamford, at the Westfield Trumbull Mall, Danbury Fair Mall, and Westfarms Mall in Farmington.

The company now expects the stores in Stamford and Trumbull to close, and related layoffs to happen on Feb. 15, 2021, or within the following two weeks. For the Danbury and Farmington, stores, the new timeframe is Dec. 28 or within two weeks.

Ed Kremer, chief restructuring officer, outlined the revised schedule in updated Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices filed with the state Department of Labor.

“The reason for the postponement of separations is that business conditions, including favorable inventory levels not envisioned at the time of the original notice, have enabled the company to extend store operations for a period beyond the holiday season, benefiting both our teams and communities with this employment extension,” Kremer wrote. 

Kremer has previously cited the COVID-19 pandemic and other adverse business conditions as factors in the decision to close the four stores.

Lord & Taylor is America’s oldest department store with origins dating back to 1826 in New York. A mall staple, it sells clothing, accessories, beauty products and home goods. 

It filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in August and announced its plans to close Connecticut stores and others around the country.  

Le Tote Inc. includes Lord & Taylor and Le Tote, a fashion rental subscription service founded in 2012 in San Francisco. Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor in 2019.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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