Bethesda Catering Company To Lay Off 278 Employees
BETHESDA, MD — Ridgewells Catering in Bethesda is laying off 278 employees, and their last day will be Jan. 15, according to a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed Monday.
The news about Ridgewells' layoffs was first reported by Bethesda Beat.
In an interview with the news outlet, Ridgewells CEO Susan Lacz said she had to permanently lay off hundreds of workers because business was down nearly 90 percent from where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Trust me, it pains me to do this ... It's unfortunate that I'm losing people that I've worked side by side with for the last 30 years," she said. "But there's just no business. I can't bring them back."
Lacz said the business took a hit when social events were canceled due to COVID-19. But she has been able to keep nearly two dozen people on staff to help with production and deliveries, according to Bethesda Beat.
"We shipped over 3,000 boxes last December, but that's equivalent to maybe one holiday party. It's just not the same," she said.
Lacz told Bethesda Beat she thinks the company will survive, but the fight to stay afloat will be hard.
This article originally appeared on the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch
