So sad :(

[Evannah]

I just found out that the charity shop I volunteer at is closing down at the end of November *sigh*

Been there nearly 10 years now.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

That sucks.

And I've been down that road 3 times since I began working many moons ago . . .

1) department store (first job right out of HS) that closed down all their stores south of the Mason Dixon line 6 months after I had been hired (started there in August of 1988 and stayed until Feb. 1989.) Chain was popular up north but has since went bankrupt (Bradlees, if anyone is interested.)

2) last grocery chain I was with shut down the first store I was working at for them in 1999 (aka Phillips Avenue location). Got word right after Thanksgiving 1998 and the store was shut down January 1999. Luckily I was able to transfer to another store but I had been at that particular store close to 9 years and was at the time the store's Scanning Manager. Stayed at store #2 for not quite 4 1/2 years then transferred to store #3 (Lawndale) in 2003.

3) Ended up closing up Lawndale store in 2004 after the company posted such dismal 3rd Q earnings, they announced the closure of a number of "underperforming" stores as well as the sale of the entire VA region. By this time, there were only 3 locations left of this chain just in my city, so I ended up signing paperwork for a nice severance package, got a closing inventory bonus and took my little self and my talents over to the Litter Box (started with them a week after I turned my paperwork in.)

Fourteen years of my life with that one company and if they would return to NC I'd go back in a heartbeat. But in 2005, they exited NC (and SC too) and are mainly concentrated further south. Came close to bankruptcy (and even filed for reorganization) but they bounced back and AFAIK the company is still doing decent, just way fewer stores than they had back in the 1990's.

Starting over is hard. Not so hard if you're working for a chain, b/c you can always transfer. But if it's a single store or nowhere in the chain left to transfer to, it's hard. Kinda in a similar vein of losing a close friend type of hurt.

Have you begun the process of trying to find another job yet or is the store you work for part of a chain that will let you transfer to another location?

[Evannah]

I'm sorry you had all that bad luck with jobs

Luckily I've already got another job, this was just my voluntary job on the side. Still a massive blow though. 10 years. I made friends, we were part of a team... and now it's all gone.

[raudf]

I was working with Montgomery Wards in it's repair center when that company went belly up. Sears bought the repair portion and another company bought the name... Every store closed up. I'd say it was depressing, but honestly the moment they decided to switch from repair centers taking their own calls to a call center, the writing was on the wall.

[Teefies2]

I had a similar experience. Right out of grad school, I went to work for the Better Business Bureau (in the 1980s). Worked my way up to Vice President of not one, but two locations. Then the 1990s hit and non-profits were cutting costs/staff. I was laid off ... hated it, cause I had thought I would be there for my entire career. I REALLY believed in what they were doing.

Now, 20+ years later, I'm in a different career (not nearly as satisfying, but it pays the bills ... almost). I was talking to a new hire, about 20-21 years old. She asked where I had worked before - told her "blah blah blah" and then before that, I was VP at the Better Business Bureau. She said ... "What's the Better Business Bureau?" It made me want to cry