Art Van closures to leave thousands of employees without work

WARREN, Mich. – An announcement that Art Van is closing all of its stores will affect thousands of employees nationwide.

The Warren-based company said Thursday that it plans to close all of its company owned stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio.

The furniture giant operates under the brands Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep and Scott Shuptrine Interiors. Levin & Wolf Furniture in Ohio and Pennsylvania will be sold to Robert Levin, pending court approval. Eight Wolf Furniture stores in Maryland and Virginia will also be liquidated.

About 3,100 employees will lose their jobs. Of those, the closures will leave 262 Warren employees without work. Those workers could be let go as early as May 5.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts expressed anger about the decision to close all of the stores in a statement released after the announcement.