The David's Bridal location in Fresno is located near Fashion Fair Mall. Google Street View image

The future of David’s Bridal remains uncertain following the Pennsylvania retailer’s bankruptcy filing earlier this year. 

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice was filed with the state Employment Development Department reporting that 13 David’s Bridal locations throughout the state — all of the Golden State’s stores — are subject to permanent layoffs

WARN Act notices were received in early July with effective dates for the layoffs of Sept. 2. The notice lists 31 employees impacted in Fresno and more than 400 in the state.

Whether those stores will actually close is another matter. A David’s Bridal employee in Fresno said on Monday that they had not been made aware of any store closures and that they expect to remain open.

That course seems even more likely with news last week that the struggling retailer had found a buyer in CION Investment Corp., which invested $20 million into the business with plans to continue operations at up to 195 stores, preserving 7,000 jobs in the U.S., according to a news release.

David’s Bridal previously operated nearly 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom with more than 9,000 employees, meaning about a third of the stores may close.

The David’s Bridal location in Bakersfield recently closed after a liquidation sale.

An email statement from David’s Bridal was short of details about specific store closures, but said that WARN notices were sent to employees under federal law. Prior to the deal with CION Investment Corp., the company explored “multiple paths and prepared for various scenarios.”

“Our new shape is a sign of promise and progress as we continue to make dreams happen for our customers with a company ready for the future,” the Company said. “We have a lot of exciting news to share as our evolution and transformation progresses in the weeks ahead so stay tuned.”