Toys R Us to close at least 2 LI stores by June 13

Toys R Us plans to close at least two of its Long Island stores by June 13, as it winds down its U.S. operations.

The stores in Valley Stream and Carle Place have 70 employees each, according to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, filings that Toys R Us submitted to the New York State Department of Labor last week announcing the closings.

The Wayne, New Jersey-based retailer also filed WARNs for a store in Brooklyn that has 108 employees, and a Bronx location that has 69 workers.

When asked about its Long Island employment numbers in January, Toys R Us said store employment averages roughly 25 part-time and full-time workers per store.

Toys R Us Inc. did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

The 70-year-old retailer has 12 Toys R Us and four Babies R Us locations on Long Island, some of which are combined.

The retailer’s WARN notices were submitted in New York State on Thursday, the same day the retailer said in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing that it needed to liquidate as it expected to run out of cash in May.

The shutdown would close 735 stores and end employment for 33,000 people.

Toys R Us has worked with its “lenders to develop a budget that ensures that all employees will continue to be paid in the ordinary course for no fewer than 60 days,” the company said in the court filing.

Toys R Us has filed WARN notices in several states, including New Jersey, Wisconsin, Missouri and Georgia, but the shutdown date is listed as May 14 in those states.

The federal WARN Act requires that employers, generally those with at least 100 employees, give workers at least 60 days’ advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs.  Seven states, including New York, have enacted their own WARN laws, which can be more strict than federal regulations.

New York, for example, requires 90 days’ advance notice, instead of the 60 under the federal law.  Also, New York’s law applies to private employers with 50 or more workers that lay off at least 25 employees.