ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080071
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: EDGEWOOD, MD.
SOURCE: Associated Press
MORE BAD NEWS for the retail industry is taking a very personal toll on several thousand Merry-Go-Round workers.
Hundreds of out-of-work Merry-Go-Round employees lined up at a job fair Wednesday to complete applications in hopes of finding work in the shrinking retail industry.
By far the longest line was at the table to apply for unemployment benefits.
After a two-year battle to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Merry-Go-Round Enterprises said it would go out of business, putting 6,700 people out of work.
Betty James, 61, started working at the Merry-Go-Round warehouse eight and a half years ago after her seven children were grown.
Her eyes filled with tears as she waited to talk to potential employers at the job fair, including Saks Fifth Avenue, The Gap and Pier One Imports.
``You never think it will come to this. It was my life,'' she said.
Her friend, Carol Owens of Shrewsburg, Pa., said she's not highly skilled and worries she won't find work.
``I'm about to turn 50, so I'm afraid about finding a job,'' she said before she broke down in tears.
Between 200 and 250 jobs were offered by the dozen companies attending the job fair, said Paul Gilbert, a local economic development official.
The retailer's demise surprised many employees of the Joppa, Md.-based company and its four chains, Cignal, Dejaiz/Attivo, Chess King and the flagship Merry-Go-Round.
Workers said they were aware of the company's difficulties but believed somehow it would survive.
``Management wasn't telling us anything,'' said Lynn Bogardus, a 29-year-old buyer for Merry-Go-Round. ``It's innocent people like us that sank with the ship.''
Company spokesman Michael Kempner said the company was trying to do as much as possible for employees. ``There are many, many issues that need to be sorted out,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Scott Eichlier hands out information on benefits andby CNBseverance pay at a job fair for former Merry-Go-Round employees
Wednesday. Employees said they knew the company was having trouble,
but they didn't expect total collapse.