Albany Goodwill Store Slated For Closure And Layoffs

ALBANY, CA — Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay will close eight local stores and layoff dozens of employees, the nonprofit announced over the weekend.

Describing the closures as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit will shutter stores in three counties: Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano. Sixty-one employees will lose their jobs when stores in Oakley, Dublin, Livermore, Durant Square in Oakland, Albany, Berkeley, Dixon, and Vallejo close, the nonprofit announced. The closure of Goodwill stores reflects the outsized impact the pandemic is having upon low-income wage earners.

"Because our stores have been shut down for most of the last year due to the pandemic, it has created a tremendous fiscal challenge and we must make a challenging business decision in order to sustain mission services," Goodwill Industries announced.

“We have had to make a difficult decision for economic reasons,” Mike Keenan, CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay said Friday. “Our employees are our first priority and we will continue to do everything we can to support them at this difficult time and fulfill the Goodwill mission in our remaining stores and facilities.

According to a statement issued by the nonprofit, the laid-off staffers will receive severance packages including one week of pay, a month of health benefits, and job-hunting services as well as assistance in applying for unemployment benefits.

Goodwill Industries operates by using revenue from selling donated goods to provide jobs and benefits for people in need. In California, there are Goodwill locations across the state.

According to a statement by the nonprofit, Goodwill provides training and career experience for people "including people with disabilities, people impacted by the criminal justice system, people who are unemployed or underemployed, veterans and military families, older workers, and young adults."