David’s Bridal slashes 9,000 jobs, files for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania

According to ABC 11, the news comes after David’s Bridal laid off 9,236 positions across the country. The Pennsylvania-based company reportedly employs around 11,000 workers nationwide.

The layoffs in Pennsylvania began last week, and they will not end until August 11. The news is said to affect 15 stores across nine different counties in the state. However, it is not clear how many layoffs will take place in other states, or when they would begin, per ABC 6.

The company told CNN Business that it is currently “evaluating our strategic options and a sale process is underway.” The outlet also noted that it still remains in business, filling orders as they come in without delay.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said that the “scale of these layoffs suggest that David’s Bridal is in crisis mode,” adding that the company’s behavior “indicates there is massive restructuring going on behind these scenes with a view to conserve cash as the company prepares for either bankruptcy or a sale.”

Saunders went on to suggest that the company would almost certainly be closing up some of its stores in the process.

The New York Times reported that this is the second time the wedding retailer has filed for bankruptcy in the last five years, though the company claims that it sells one of every three bridal dresses in the US.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after being jammed between increasing debt and a drop in sales of wedding dresses. Though it emerged from bankruptcy in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the company, with sales suddenly dropping off again. The company believed that it would get back on its feet after lockdown rules were lifted, but it does not seem to have made the returns that it hoped for.