More Layoffs at RadioShack as Company Prepares for Store Sale

Another round of layoffs hit RadioShack headquarters in downtown Fort Worth Tuesday, as the company prepares for a bankruptcy auction of about half its stores next week.

Several dozen people reportedly lost their jobs as the electronics retailer continues to downsize its operation. The company confirmed that layoffs were underway but declined to specify the number of jobs involved. It’s estimated that the company has about 500 jobs left in Fort Worth.

On Monday, the company filed a list of stores that will be part of a stalking-horse bid from the Standard General hedge fund, one of its big shareholders and creditors. Six Fort Worth locations were listed among the 1,723 stores targeted for sale.

Some store leases would be assigned to General Wireless, an affiliate of Standard General, while others would go to Sprint, which has agreed to take space inside many of the RadioShack locations. Most stores would have the “store-within-a-store” concept, while some would be stand-alone locations.

Competitive bids for store locations were due in bankruptcy court Tuesday. An auction is set for Monday, with the court scheduled to approve the sale later next week.

Stores that are not sold would be closed, so if the Standard General deal is approved, more than half of the company’s 4,000 U.S. locations would be shuttered in the process. The company said that about 1,400 stores have already closed.

This article appeared in print in the March 18th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.