Third Man Records, the vinyl-centric record label and storefront founded in Nashville by Jack White — which has grown to include a venue, a recording studio and a second location in Detroit that boasts its own vinyl pressing plant — laid off seven employees this week. The Tenneseean 's Nate Rau reports that the staffers' jobs ranged from general assistants and interns to designers and event staff. The Detroit location is not affected.
"These decisions occurred in the name of trying to do business in a more streamlined fashion and were not made lightly or easily," Third Man's Ben Swank told Rau.
Rau also notes that terminated employees were offered cash payments in exchange for not disclosing information about the business. He also writes that a Jan. 2 filing with the Tennessee Secretary of State shows that an entity called Third Man Vinyl owes another entity called Corporation Service Company a debt of $1 million, with an extension filed on Jan. 9.
A Third Man staffer reached by the Scene declined to comment further.
The layoffs come just before the March 23 release of White's third solo album Boarding House Reach, preceded by surprise shows in Nashville this week, and Joshua Hedley's debut solo record Mr. Jukebox on April 20.Â
