subject: Borders books files for Bankruptcy [print this page] Borders books files for Bankruptcy Borders books files for Bankruptcy
Well, it has happened again, this time it is Borders books, the second largest book chain in the U.S. There used to be a time when there were companies and industries that you could count on, but not any more. Nothing is stable and nothing is certain these days. Borders books, a long time staple of a lot of communities is closing 200 of it's 600 stores, which is 1/3 of the stores that it currently operates.
According to reports, the stores that are being closed were losing $2 million dollars per day. Borders, which listed $1.29 billion in debt and $1.27 billion in assets, plans to continue to operate through the court process with the help of $505 million in financing from lenders led by G.E. Capital.
Part of the problem is that lots of people are now writing, selling and buying ebooks. You no longer need to get permission from a publisher to print a book. With just a few dollars and a little time, you can be selling your own book online and obviously lots of people like this idea.
It's unclear how many of the company's 6,100 full-time and 11,400 part-time employees will be affected by the closings, but Barnes and nobles is also in trouble and they can't be too far behind.
I can't help but to have sympathy for the families of the employees who don't know what their fate will be, particularly after having experienced this myself. I spent three years at MCI-World com after the Bernie Evers fiasco, never knowing when my last day would be.
These are the kinds of incidents that make me more and more sure that one has to take care of them self in this economy and what got me started on my journey to financial independence.
