OXNARD, CAMARILLO : 80 to Lose Jobs When Builders Stores Close

The closure of Builders Emporium hardware stores will mean the loss of 80 jobs at the chain’s two Ventura County outlets, company officials said Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Irvine-based Collins & Aikman Group blamed the slumping economy and intense competition from warehouse stores for the demise of the chain. Of the 97 stores to be closed, 82 are in California, most in Southern California.

The closures will result in 4,300 layoffs, 3,800 of those in California.

Employees at the Camarillo and Oxnard stores were notified Tuesday that they will lose their jobs in several months after most of the stock on hand is sold during going-out-of-business sales.

In Oxnard, where employees learned of the decision by an announcement over closed-circuit television, manager Steve Warner said the company had instructed employees not to respond to press inquiries.

“There’s nothing I can really tell you other than that,” Warner said.

An employee of the Camarillo store, who asked not to be identified, said the announcement followed weeks of rumors and speculation.

“It still hurts,” the employee said. “California doesn’t need 4,000 more unemployed people.”