Nearly 800 Layoffs Possible At Barneys New York

NEW YORK — Nearly 800 Barneys New York employees could lose their jobs in the coming weeks, the troubled retailer warned as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

Up to 785 Barneys workers at five outposts in Manhattan, Queens and Orange County could be laid off as soon as Nov. 1, according to an Oct. 16 notice the company filed with the state's Department of Labor under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice Act.

But it's not yet clear exactly how many jobs will be lost once a buyer is found for the high-end department store chain.

Barneys filed the notice as a precaution because the leading bidder for the company — Authentic Brands Group — may decide to cut the Barneys workforce once the sale is completed, said Thomas Kennedy, a lawyer for the Barneys employees' labor union.

"I do not believe the WARN Act notice is likely to be accurate with respect to the employment futures of our members, either because we will achieve a buyer that maintains their employment, or in any circumstances, there would continue to be work that needs to be done in the store after November 1," said Kennedy, who represents the New York New Jersey Regional Joint Board Workers United.

Potential Barneys buyers have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to submit bids for the company, federal bankruptcy court workers show. The extent of any layoffs likely won't be known until Oct. 31, when a judge is slated to hold a hearing on the winning bid.

The workers who could be affected include sales and support associates, warehouse staff, tailors, order fulfillment workers and others, Kennedy said. The locations that could be purged include two Barneys stores and the company headquarters in Manhattan, an office in Long Island City and an outlet location in the Hudson Valley, according to The New York Post, which first reported on the potential layoffs.

Authentic Brands Group, or ABG, submitted a $271.4 million stalking horse bid for Barneys' assets last week after the retailer's August bankruptcy filing. A stalking horse bid functions as a minimum offer for a company that other bidders must beat at auction.

ABG plans to "liquidate" Barneys' Madison Avenue flagship and its six other remaining stores — but might reopen three of them — if it wins the bid, the Post reported.

A Barneys spokesperson declined to comment on the possible layoffs.