Mall of America to lay off more than 200 employees

The Mall of America said it plans to lay off more than 200 people and might have to extend the furloughs of up to 178 more.

The mall — like retail and entertainment establishments throughout the U.S. — has been hurt by stay-at-home orders and consumer anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic.

The mall has notified the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse that 211 employees will be laid off by the end of September.

"When the year began, no one could have predicted the enormous challenges we would face as a business, a community and as a nation," MOA spokesman Dan Jasper said in a statement Thursday. "While we continue to make progress at Mall of America, the road to recovery is going to be slow."

The layoffs will be across departments, MOA said. The mall generally employs 900 to 1,200 employees.

Another 178 employees are currently on "temporary layoff status," which may need to be extended, the mall said in its letter to the state.

The mall said it hopes to bring those employees back to work in the future.

"Although MOA seeks to return all or some of these employees to work as soon as possible, based on evolving business conditions, it may be necessary to extend the temporary layoff for these employees," said the letter to the state, required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

MOA's owner, Triple Five Group, fell behind on the megamall's mortgage after the mall had to close in March due to state-mandated efforts to help curb the spread of coronavirus. In May, mall representatives said revenue had fallen 85%. The loan was transferred to special servicing.

The $1.4 billion mortgage is current through April but still three months delinquent, according to an August report from data firm Trepp.