April 6, 2018

Younkers is hoping a court-supervised sale will save its Empire Mall location.

The department store, owned by The Bon Ton Stores Inc., has given notice to the state that 158 employees will lose their jobs.

The first layoffs are expected to be June 5, according to the filing.

“The timetable for the closing is based on the best information available, although it is subject to change as we evaluate our options, including (the) option of selling the business and continuing as a going concern and subject to any actions of the bankruptcy court,” vice president of human resources Gail Monreal wrote.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February.

A spokesman for Bon-Ton provided the following statement late today:

“We are required to provide notification under certain state and federal laws of potential job losses even as we work diligently to complete a sale of the company as a going concern. Bon-Ton is in active discussions with an investor group to acquire the company in a court-supervised sale process,” the statement said. “We are encouraged by the interest in Bon-Ton and we hope that jobs will be preserved through a sale process. We remain committed to pursuing the best path forward for the company and its stakeholders, including Bon-Ton associates.”

Reports are surfacing that other Bon-Ton stores might be going out of business. According to the Star Tribune, the company notified Minnesota officials that three Herberger’s stores in the Twin Cities and Younkers in Duluth could close.

South Dakota has Herberger’s locations in Aberdeen, Rapid City and Watertown. The manager of Herberger’s in Aberdeen said they’ve been told it’s “business as usual.” The Rapid City manager hasn’t heard anything about his store and the Watertown manager said he couldn’t comment on the location’s future.