As the recession continues, more job losses are eminent.
Albertson’s employee Kevin Merced, who was hired to work at the grocery store in late December, found out in January he would be out of a job soon.
Merced, a Tallahassee Community College student said he was advised by Albertson’s management to schedule his classes for this semester in the morning so he would be able work. On his third day of employment he was told he would be out of a job within a few weeks.
“I am pissed off about it,” Merced said. “They told me not to worry about applying for other jobs but they knew before they hired me this was going to happen, and I believe they should have let me know.”
Regular shoppers who use the Albertson’s, located on the corner of West Tennessee Street and Ocala Road, will have to make other plans since the grocer is going out of business. Many local consumers remain largely unaware of the change.
Sheffield Washington said he found out the store’s scheduled closing date was Feb. 26, while shopping on Feb. 7.
Washington said he will turn to other chains like Publix, Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie, but the store’s closing will be an inconvenience.
“I just found out today and I will probably just have to go to Publix, which is more out the way,” said John Joseph, who is a Florida State University student.
Florida A&M University students are also inconvenienced as the grocer decides to permanently shut its doors.
“I feel that it’s a reality that we are in a recession at the moment,” said FAMU alum Renee Fryar, “I guess I’ll have to drive a little further to Publix, which is a little more expensive.”
Albertson’s employee Travalle Payne, who worked in the seafood department, said they should not have shut the store down because a lot of college students still shop here.
“It’s not just the employees losing a job here, but the customers are losing a good quality of service,” Payne said
Jamison Ryon, who attends FSU, said he was indifferent to the store’s closing as he does most of his shopping at another grocer.
“I mostly shop at Publix, yet I hate to see any business go here in Tallahassee…times are tough,” said Ryon.
Other businesses located in the current Albertson’s plaza may suffer as traffic in the area may decrease.
“I think this will effect a lot of the local businesses because Albertson’s bargains brings in a lot of customers,” Joseph said.
Daryl Fink, 23, works in the Rent-A-Center in the current Albertson’s shopping center and said the store’s closing will have minimal affects, if any for his employer.
“I think it will affect some of our business, yet I don’t know what they plan to put in its place,” Fink said. “If they put in another grocery store the revenue should stay about the same, but we will be all right minus a little traffic.”
Merced said he has started looking for other jobs after Albertson’s finally told him about the store’s closing; he hasn’t been able to find another job. He went on to say he didn’t know if he would be able to get money for unemployment to make up for the loss of income.