Circuit City’s Closing Affects Short Pump Families

The news yesterday of Circuit City going into liquidation was actually quite shocking.  Circuit City has always been a part of Richmond and it really is hard to imagine a business which has been around for 60 years not being able to survive somehow.

While employees were told there was a 25% chance this would happen, most everyone was pretty confident an acquisition would come and save the company.  The sad thing is that Circuit City employees worked like crazy to negotiate and finalize a deal only to find out that the banks got cold feet and, at the end of the day, refused to finance the acquisition.

I am sad for my fellow Short Pump family neighbors and friends who are being affected by this.  We know of a family who moved here last year to work for Circuit City here in Richmond.  Both husband and wife worked for them and so now they are pretty much facing the reality that given the local job market, they will need to once again uproot their family.

Then, there is the father of an old family friend of mine who worked for Circuit City for 30 years.  The news is hitting him not only financially but emotionally given his commitment to the company.

Another friend I have is a little younger and has worked for Circuit City for the past few years.  She loved her job and her colleagues and was working hard to make FireDog a success.  She just got married this year and bought a house a few months ago.  Losing her job is a big hit to her and her husband and with a new mortgage, little savings, and little opportunity in Richmond, they are dealing with a lot of uncertainty and stress.

Today, our entire Short Pump community is feeling the sadness for all our friends and family affected by losing their jobs. I have heard that the last few months have really been an emotional roller coaster for those who work there and those who tried to save it somehow.  As with any loss, there is some closure to the final news and so hopefully, this makes it easier to move on . . . to bigger and better things.