In effort to stay afloat, Honolulu Cookie Company to lay off over 70 workers

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Some 71 employees with the Honolulu Cookie Company are being laid off as a result of financial hardship for the business.

In a letter dated Aug. 19, the company says their financial setbacks are largely credited to the latest delay in a tourism restart.

Of the 71 workers being laid off, the most cuts are that of positions like bakery workers, packers, sales associates and retail shift supervisors.

A smaller number of supervisors and other managers are also being laid off.

Workers are being notified. The company said they were unable to provide 60-day notices to workers because their strategic plan was based off the opening of visitor travel on Sept. 1 instead of Oct. 1.

Employees being laid off will be notified on or before Sept. 5.

“Despite trying to diversity our business and our endless efforts of our current working staff, we need to be smart and strategic by making hard decisions so that we as a local company reliant on the visitor market can withstand this very difficult situation,” the letter stated.

Honolulu Cookie Company has dozens of locations around the state targeting tourist hot spots. They also have two stores in Las Vegas and two more in Guam.

Many of their locations have been closed since mid-March.