Guitar Center is not closing. They are under enormous debt and a lot of pressure due to the coming payments they need to make off amount of interest on this debt. They saved themselves about 3 million dollars in payroll by laying off 140 people at the corporate level, not the store level. Mostly Executives, VP's, Field Management and the like. Liquidation could very well come next, however that is something only time will tell. Their new CEO was put there to restructure, and find the quickest solution, and if need be lead them into a smooth bankruptcy. That does not mean, they are closing store. It just means, it's a possibility in the future, but if that does happen, it will not be for a while.
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They seem to be on their way out. Not much in the used dept. No "drum guy" in the store I visit. The vibe just doesn't seem to be happening there anymore.
Another round of layoffs yesterday. The good news is that if you're crazy enough to buy their "junk" rated bonds they're now paying over 12% interest!! If they somehow manage to pull out of their nosedive you'd make a mint. The higher the risk, the better the return.
GC is high risk.
I was payed off today from operations with no other reason given than budget cuts.
I was told I was a good worker and they were sorry to have to let me go. The post below is true about hours cuts as well.
That is a lie about the store level not getting layoffs. There were at least four people who were laid off from my store, and I heard about other stores also laying off. Not only that but the pay was cut from the current employees, and responsibility's were increased. Worst of all the people in operations/warehouse took a huge hit, by having their hours cut, and there is still a threat of more layoffs.
Inventory shortages are evident in SoCal stores. And the level of organization/cleanliness is breaking down. The loss of experienced managers is beginning to show.
Private equity loading a company with debt? What else is new?