96 Employees Out of Work in Oswego Lowe's Closing

Updated: 10:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17

Lowe's corporate officials Monday morning confirmed the closing of the Oswego and Aurora locations.

In all, 96 employees in Oswego and 86 in Aurora have lost their jobs in the closings, which is affecting 18 other locations throughout the country, according to company spokeswoman Karen Cobb.

"Most of the stores we are closing were not profitable," Cobb said. "These difficult decisions had to be made."

The closing of the Oswego store, at 2400 Route 34, will mean a loss of about $150,000 annually to the village's sales tax revenue, said Mark Horton, Oswego's director of finance.

Oswego Village President Brian LeClercq said village staff were in contact with the corporation Monday morning to get more information about the future of the space. He said the village was not notified of the closing. 

"This is frustrating on the economic development end," LeClercq said. "Now we will work twice as hard at bringing in new business. We need to look beyond retail. You just can't bank on any one area anymore."

The store, which opened in 2007, closed its doors for good Sunday night and workers removed the sign from the store's front late into the night.

The Aurora location, at 2372 W. Indian Trail, also closed for good Sunday night. Some locations are being held open for up to 30 days while inventory is sold off, Cobb said.

Customers with existing orders through the store will be contacted by Lowe's representatives to ensure those orders are filled, Cobb said. Oswego customers will be served by the Naperville location on Route 59, and Aurora customers will be served by the St. Charles location on Randall Road.

Cobb said employees will receive benefits and pay for 60 days and are being offered opportunities for transfers to other locations and assistance with applying for unemployment benefits.  

Stores in Elgin and Schaumburg were closed in August.

Though the Route 34 location is in Oswego, it served the village of Montgomery as well. Charlene Coulombe-Fiore, head of the Montgomery Economic Development Corporation, expressed surprise at the closing, but said it creates an opportunity for another big box retailer to come in.