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Visionworks Announces 287 Florida Furloughs, Layoffs; 14 In Jacksonville

Photo of eyechart with glasses
Ken Teegardin
/
Wikimedia Commons

Visionworks has "temporarily separated" 287 employees across Florida and the First Coast.

Among the employees thrown out of work are 14 workers at the company's Jacksonville-area stores:

  • 9480 Arlington Expressway - 2 employees
  • 58 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park - 4 employees
  • 10300 Southside Blvd. - 8 employees

Visionworks told the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity the job cuts, which are a combination of furloughs and layoffs, are due to "unforeseen business circumstances caused by the global pandemic."

Related: Local, State, And National Coronavirus Coverage

Its stores were closed nationwide on March 21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A limited number of stores have since reopened.

The San Antonio-based eye wear company said it has also significantly reduced its manufacturing operations "due to the reduced demand and state and local orders."

The layoffs began April 4 with Visionworks writing, "This closure is expected to be temporary and we believe it will last fewer than six months." 

Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.

Photo used under Creative Commons license.

Bill joined WJCT News in September of 2017 from The Florida Times-Union, where he served in a variety of multimedia journalism positions.