According to an article in the Star-Telegram, General Growth Properties Inc., the nation’s second-largest mall operator and owner of The Parks at Arlington mall and Hulen Mall in Tarrant County filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Thursday. The bankruptcy came after the company failed to convince creditors to give it more time to refinance billions of dollars in debt it racked up during the real estate boom.The article said:
“While we have worked tirelessly in the past several months to address our maturing debts, the collapse of the credit markets has made it impossible for us to refinance maturing debt outside of Chapter 11,” Chief Executive Adam Metz said in a statement.
Sound familiar? This is the same sad story being told by other corporations such as General Motors and the now bankrupt Circuit City. Companies going bankrupt are of course part of the natural business cycle; but the number and scale of corporate bankruptcies occurring now are affecting the job prospects of American workers, especially when companies liquidate. Fortunately, this company’s bankruptcy is designed to restructure its debt. The COO of General Growth Properties has promised that customers at their malls will not even notice the bankruptcy. I also hope that this company’s employees are able to coast through the bankruptcy without their financial lives being disrupted. Only time will tell.
