LATEST UPDATE ON CLOSURES AND SHRINKING ECONOMY

This **summary of known business closures and layoffs that have been announced or occurred since December 1, 2025 (through late December and into early 2026), based on recent business news:

Businesses That Have Closed or Are Closing

Sprinkles Cupcakes

The California-based dessert chain abruptly closed all ~20+ locations and its cupcake ATMs as of New Year’s Eve 2025. This ended operations and left many employees without jobs. (The Sun)

Food52, Inc. (Bankruptcy Filing)

Food52, a Brooklyn-based home and cooking media & e-commerce company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late December 2025 due to funding withdrawal. This move has drastically reduced its workforce and operations as it pursues a restructuring or sale. (New York Post)

Otis & Chuck’s Billiards (The OCB)

A local pizza restaurant in Michigan ceased operations on Dec 31, 2025, closing its doors and eliminating jobs. (The Sun)

Significant Layoffs & Workforce Reductions

Geron Corporation

Announced layoffs affecting ~87 employees in December 2025 as part of restructuring to improve commercial focus. (BioSpace)

Valneva (Biotech)

Closed its Nantes, France R&D site, leaving ~30 workers jobless as operations shift to other locations. (BioSpace)

Omnicom (Advertising)

Media/advertising giant announced cuts of ~4,000 jobs and the closure of several legacy ad agencies immediately after an IPG takeover announced on Dec 1, 2025. (Reuters)

SMU / ABM Texas General Services

Southern Methodist University’s janitorial services contract ended, triggering ~211 layoffs effective March 12, 2026. (Chron)

Duke University Cost Cuts

Duke announced staff buyouts and closure of buildings, part of a larger cost-cutting strategy due to federal funding reductions. Workforce effects include voluntary and some involuntary cuts. (The Times of India)

Broad Layoff Trends (Late 2025)

Even if not tied to a specific closure post–Dec 1, many large companies continued or announced workforce reductions late in 2025 that could impact employees into 2026:

Tech Sector (Ongoing / Carrying Over)

Companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Salesforce, Intel, and others have had multiple rounds of layoffs throughout 2025. These layoffs continued into the end of the year or have lingering impacts in early 2026. (Business Insider)
Entertainment & Media layoffs

The entertainment/media sector saw over 17,000 jobs cut in 2025 due to restructuring and mergers, affecting companies like Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, CNN, and others. (New York Post)

Annual Layoff Wave

Data from year-end reports shows employer layoff announcements in 2025 exceeded 1.17 million, driven by restructuring, AI adoption, and economic pressures—many layoffs announced in November and December take effect after Dec 1. (CBS News)

What This Means

Since Dec 1, 2025, the biggest confirmed closures and layoffs include:

Sprinkles Cupcakes — full closure of stores.
Food52, Inc. — bankruptcy.
Omnicom — ~4,000 jobs cut.
Geron Corporation — ~87 layoffs.
Valneva — ~30 layoffs at a site closure.
SMU contract layoffs — ~211 workers.
Duke University restructuring — staffing impacts.

These occur alongside ongoing layoff trends across major tech and media companies from late 2025 that continue into early 2026.

2025 LATEST CLOSURES AND DOWNSIZING

Tyson permanently closes 2 plants and drops 4,900 workers as US cattle craters to 75 year low

Agriculture giant shuts $17M facility—172 Virginia workers lose jobs before Christmas

Amazon abandons $400M Arkansas hub—4,100 jobs eliminated over ‘unfixable flaws’

Jim Beam shuts down bourbon production as Trump trade wars cripple industry

Here’s a list of U.S. businesses that have closed facilities or announced layoffs/downsizing in 2025, along with approximate number of employees affected (where data is available from recent reports and WARN notices). This includes plant closures, office shutdowns, store closures, and large layoffs announced this year:

Major Closures & Layoffs (Companies & Employee Impacts)

1. Tyson Foods — Beef Plant Closure (Lexington, NE)

Closure: Tyson is closing its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska.
Employees affected: ~3,200 direct jobs lost plus estimated up to 7,000 total regional job losses from economic impact. (AP News)

2. Westlake Corporation — Chemical Plant Shutdowns

Closure: Closing 3–4 chemical facilities in Louisiana/Gulf Coast.
Employees affected: ~295 layoffs due to plant closures. (Chron)

3. bioMérieux — Silicon Valley Office Closure

Closure: Shutting down San Jose office permanently.
Employees affected: 121 layoffs. (San Francisco Chronicle)

4. Hudson’s Bay (Department Store)

Closure: All U.S. stores liquidated and shut down by mid-2025.
Employees affected: ~8,000 layoffs. (Wikipedia)

5. Red Lobster — Downsizing After Bankruptcy

Downsizing: Layoffs as part of restructuring after bankruptcy.
Employees affected: ~200 layoffs. (The Sun)

Major National Layoffs Across Sectors (2025 Announced)

These are workforce reductions and not always full business closures:

Big Corporate Layoffs

Amazon: ~14,000 corporate roles cut (largest reduction in its history). (The Economic Times)
Microsoft: 15,000+ total layoff rounds (6,000 + 9,000). (Wikipedia)
UPS: ~48,000 job cuts. (The Economic Times)
Intel: ~24,000 layoffs. (The Economic Times)
Nestlé (U.S. & global impact): ~16,000 layoffs. (The Economic Times)
Verizon / Telecom: ~15,000 layoffs. (The Economic Times)
Ford: ~8,000–13,000 layoffs during restructuring. (The Economic Times)
Paramount: ~2,000 layoffs. (The Economic Times)
Oracle: ~355 layoffs (101 Seattle + 254 San Francisco). (The Economic Times)
Salesforce: ~262 layoffs (San Francisco focused). (The Economic Times)

Retail & Consumer

Kohl’s: ~9,600 layoffs. (mint)
Starbucks: ~1,100 layoffs. (mint)
Estee Lauder: ~7,000 layoffs. (mint)
Big Lots: ~1,000 layoffs. (Forbes)
Party City: ~16,000 layoffs tied to bankruptcy. (Forbes)
Joann Fabrics: ~19,000 layoffs tied to bankruptcy. (Forbes)
Kroger Distribution Centers: 3 facility closures (~1,000+ layoffs). (IndexBox)
Baker & Taylor (Distribution): ~1,500 layoffs. (IndexBox)
Fanatics (Tampa): ~286 layoffs. (IndexBox)

Healthcare & Services

Mass General Brigham: ~1,500 job cuts across administrative roles. (Wikipedia)
Providence / Oak Street Health: Hundreds more job cuts in healthcare sector. (Fierce Healthcare)

Overall Layoff Context

Total U.S. layoffs in 2025: ~1.17 million announced across public & private sectors — the highest since the pandemic era. (The Economic Times)
Impacts span technology, retail, logistics, energy, automotive, and healthcare sectors.

Notes

Some layoffs represent downsizing, not full business closures; others involve facility shutdowns.
Numbers may vary as companies update plans or file multiple WARN notices.
Local small business closures are not comprehensively tracked nationally, as reporting is uneven.