3 Pathmark Closures Will Cost 350 Their Jobs, Notice Says

More than 230 people could lose their jobs at Pathmarks in Cherry Hill and Camden in September, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice, which is required in the case of mass layoffs, filed by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, confirming what union officials announced last week.

Cherry Hill stands to lose the most jobs—123 people will be out of work at the Church Road Pathmark, while 109 will be unemployed when Camden's Pathmark, located on Mount Ephraim Avenue, closes.

A third Pathmark slated for closure, in Edgewater Park in Burlington County, will leave another 123 jobless, according to the WARN notice.

All three stores are set to close Sept. 6.

The WARN notice is among the first public acknowledgement by A&P officials that the grocery stores are closing. The announcement originally came from union officials early last week, and A&P officials have yet to respond to phone calls or emails regarding the planned closures.

Camden County officials have already said they're extending the services of the county One Stop Career Center—including training opportunities and intensive job seeker programs—to help employees affected by the closures and layoffs, in an effort to lessen the blow of two stores in the county going belly-up at once.

Cherry Hill officials said previously they had a sense the store might close, as there was talk of it being among the unprofitable spots for A&P. There are four grocery stores within three miles of the Church Road Pathmark, as well as Target and Walmart, putting it amid plenty of competition.

“You never like to see a business close or people lose their jobs,” said township spokeswoman Bridget Palmer. “But at the same time, it’s a site that’s been on our radar.”

The Cherry Hill and Camden Pathmarks aren't the only A&P-owned stores to close in the area; the Pathmark in Lawnside closed in the spring of 2012, and it was only seven ago the company shut down the SuperFresh in Westmont Plaza, which A&P officials also said was underperforming.

Though Pathmark's depature will leave a big hole in the 190,000-square-foot shopping center it helps anchor, along with Big Lots, across from the Cherry Hill Mall, Palmer said there have already been other parties expressing interest in the site, though she didn’t specify anyone.

“We don’t think it’s going to sit vacant very long,” she said.