Borders 'now hiring' for its downtown Ann Arbor, Lohr Road stores as liquidation continues
(See previous story: Liquidation starts: Borders store in downtown Ann Arbor enters its final days.)
Borders' flagship bookstore in downtown Ann Arbor will close within a month as the chain completes its liquidation — but there's still time to get a job there.
The store is advertising on its windows that it's "now hiring."
Someone has painted "YOU WILL BE MISSE" (sic) on a wooden panel outside Borders' flagship store in downtown Ann Arbor.
Nathan Bomey | AnnArbor.com
Store employees are barred from talking to the media, but one employee said the store needs temporary help to get through its final days, presumably because some workers have left since the chain announced July 18 that it would liquidate.
The same job openings are posted for the chain's superstore on Lohr Road in Pittsfield Township.
"Stores hire temporary help as needed. Nothing out of the ordinary," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said in an email.
A spokesman for Gordon Brothers Group LLC, part of a team of liquidators that is handling the store-closing sales, did not respond to a request seeking comment.
The downtown Borders store is expected to close within weeks, although the exact timeline is unclear. The company has said all of its stores will be closed by the end of September. About 10,700 employees will be laid off.
Windows at the downtown store are covered with signs advertising the liquidation sales, which have increased to 50 percent to 70 percent off all merchandise.
On a wooden panel outside the Liberty Street entrance to the store, someone spray-painted the words "YOU WILL BE MISSE" (sic).
Meanwhile, the lease for the 40,000-square-foot downtown store is set to be auctioned off next month as part of Borders' Chapter 11 bankruptcy liquidation.
Bids are due by 3 p.m. Sept. 7, and an auction would take place Sept. 13 if more than one bid is received. A hearing to approve the sales would be held Sept. 20.
The lease would be assigned to the buyer, which could then negotiate changes to the lease with the property landlord. The downtown property has multiple owners, but the property is controlled by Farmington Hills-based Agree Realty.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
Melissa Boveroux
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 9:57 p.m.
When my last company went belly up in the upper midwest they used the same liquidators as Borders in some of Borders locations. They tried to treat those losing their jobs respectfully and while the product for sale was now theirs to sell and the former promo programs had ended they tried to do a tough job as efficiently as possible. Their job was to wring as much out of what was left. Obviously it is a short term hire for anyone willing to take it on but it was a job. And yup those signs are ubiquitous. But they too will be gone. I'm sure temp agencies have fees that these guys don't need to pay. I would imagine that if you mentioned littering by the liquidator to the on duty manager it would be fixed soon. Complaints aught to be addressed or others will not hire them. Wilco had responsible people on the front lines 7 years ago.
A2comments
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 11:43 a.m.
Pretty strange. Same jobs open at multiple locations? And job spec are clearly same ones used by Borders, I.e. no5 written for a 5 wk job. Talk about all sorts of things that liquidators have no interest in.
simone66
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 11:04 p.m.
This is silly! Why not hire temp help via a local temp agency?
snapshot
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 2:49 a.m.
Because they save money, something of a novelty to government.
Townie
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 9:04 p.m.
Shame on the liquidators for littering the community with its obnoxious signs everywhere. And only on weekends when they know there's no enforcement. Anyone who is thinking of working for these people -- remember that you're disposable like our community and it's likely they'll try to short you one way or the other. It's all about taking the money and running (like our banks, Wall Street, etc.). Nathan -- how about looking into the company behind the liquidation and their record in the past. I think this is the same group that trashed our public property for KB Toys and a couple of other liquidations.
Townie
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 9:12 p.m.
Gorc: Bank of America CitiGroup JP Morgan Chase Wells Fargo Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley PNC US Bancorp Yes, they're all banks legally and they decided to gamble on the housing bubble and WE (you and me) had to bail them out with OUR money when their gamble came back to bite them. So we paid with our tax money and our destroyed investments instead of the banks' shareholders. After they got our tax money (TARP - Bush Administration) they refused to lend to anyone.
clownfish
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 12:56 p.m.
SNAP, I guess I missed the part about unions at Borders riving them out of business. Which union was that?
snapshot
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 2:48 a.m.
I forgot to thank you for the disdain you show for private businesses that provide 80 percent of government funding.
snapshot
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 2:46 a.m.
Townie, you forgot like the public unions and the democratic politicians they buy with member dues.
Gorc
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 11:40 p.m.
Townie - which bank took your money and ran away?
dconkey
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 6:58 p.m.
It would be a great place for an urban Wall-Mart.
grimmk
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 3:46 a.m.
I'd much rather have a whole foods or a trader joes, thank you very much. Putting a wallmart downtown is the stupidest thing I've heard of it. There are three wallmarts in the vicinity. Unless you want downtown to go bottom up like Borders is.
snapshot
Tue, Aug 30, 2011 : 2:44 a.m.
Sure let allow the "university" to take another property off the tax roles.
leaguebus
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 8:38 p.m.
There must be something the University could do with that building!
mojo
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 6:51 p.m.
I could see that location going dark for a long time.