David’s Bridal announces mass layoff, central Pa. stores affected

David’s Bridal LLC, the wedding dress and formal wear retailer, announced it would be laying off 9,236 workers nationwide, including from 15 stores in Pennsylvania – two of which are in central Pennsylvania.

The specific number from the commonwealth was not available in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification listing on the Department of Labor & Industry website. It did say that Phase 1 of the layoffs will began today, April 14, and that phases 2 and 3 will start May 13 and June 12, respectively.

Overall, the Pennsylvania stores affected are in nine counties. The two local franchises on the list are 5125 Jonestown Road, Harrisburg, and 2821 Concord Road in York Town Center, York.

The seven other counties are Allegheny (four locations); Blair; Bucks (two locations); Delaware; Erie; Luzerne; and Montgomery (three locations).

Laura McKeever, a spokeswoman for David’s Bridal, said in an emailed statement: “We are evaluating our strategic options and a sale process is underway. At this time, there are no updates to share. As ever, providing excellent service remains our focus and we are committed to serving and delivering for our brides and customers and being part of magical moments.”

The WARN filing expanded on “strategic options” as “including a sale as a going concern, a sale of certain assets and intellectual property, or a potential wind-down of some or all of the business and a resulting limited or company-wide reduction in force and job elimination of employees within the state.”

The layoffs are expected to be permanent, the filing said, “although new opportunities may become available depending on the outcome of the company’s sale efforts. Unfortunately, the company was not able to provide early notice of the layoffs as it qualifies under the ‘faltering company’ and ‘unforeseeable business circumstances’ exceptions set forth in the WARN Act.”

Conshohocken-based David’s Bridal, which has 300 or so stores, most of which are in the U.S., boasts that it sells one of every three wedding dresses in the country, according to the New York Times.

But the Times also recently reported that the business was considering filing for bankruptcy, for the second time in five years.

The bridal wear market in the U.S. was estimated at $27 billion in 2022, according to a Research and Markets report. The U.S. accounts for a 44.16% share in the global market.

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer