As soon as we heard last week that 99 Cents Only Stores was filing for bankruptcy, our Economic Development Division and Santa Ana WORK Center staff immediately reached out to managers of Santa Ana’s two locations. They told us the stores at 1514 N. Main St. and 2311 S. Bristol St. will be closed by June 3, and 48 employees would be laid off between the two locations.
WORK Center staff began rapid-response services to help these local workers. Staff will be providing resources for retraining and upskilling, facilitating access to unemployment benefits, and offering job placement services. In addition, Economic Development staff have made contact with the property owners of the two locations to offer site selection assistance to recruit new tenants for the sites.
This immediate response for businesses is crucial to address the challenges posed by layoffs and promotes long-term economic growth for the city. We hope to see all of the affected workers land on their feet with new jobs and to bring new businesses to these storefronts that will benefit the community and surrounding neighborhoods as quickly as possible.