Toys R Us announced that it will close 182 stores nationwide as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. In the greater Valley region, stores in Simi Valley and Santa Clarita will close. Throughout Southern California, 15 stores are scheduled to cease operations. The closing will start next month and be completed in April. The number of employees per store varies but on average each store has 25 team members. Taylor O’Donnell, coordinator for corporate communications at Toys R Us, said the company has a plan for employees at closed stores. “We do have plans to support affected employees during the transition. Our goal is to place as many team members as possible in other locations, or provide severance as in our normal practices,” O’Donnell said in an email to the Business Journal. The Business Journal reached out to both the Simi Valley and Santa Clarita locations, but they declined to comment. The Toys R Us bankruptcy plan comes as the company owes a total of $7.5 billion to major toymakers including MGA Entertainment in Van Nuys, Mattel Inc. in El Segundo, Hasbro, Lego and Crayola.
