Old Navy files notice to close a Manhattan store, affecting 44 workers

Overview

Updated 54 minutes ago

Old Navy LLC told New York State on October 19 that it will close its store at 610 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. The notice covers 44 employees and sets the closure for January 22, 2027.

Forty-four workers is below the 50-employee threshold in the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the 1988 law that requires 60 days' notice of large layoffs. New York runs its own notice requirement and publishes the filings on a public dashboard, which is how this one became visible 95 days before the closing date.

Why it matters

Forty-four Manhattan retail jobs now have an end date, and the filing gives workers and the state 95 days to plan around it.

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Key Indicators

Affected employees

The number of workers listed in the WARN notice for 610 Sixth Avenue.

Days from notice to closure

The gap between the October 19 filing and the January 22, 2027 closing date.

$8.2B

Old Navy revenue, 2023

Annual revenue of the Gap Inc. division that filed the notice.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Horacio Barbeito

President and CEO, Old Navy

Leads the brand; not named in the notice

Organizations Involved

Old Navy

Apparel retailer

Filed the WARN notice

The Gap Inc. clothing brand that filed the notice, operating stores in the United States and Canada.

Gap Inc.

Public retail company

Parent company of Old Navy

The San Francisco-based parent of Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

New York State Department of Labor

State agency

Publishes the WARN filing

The agency that collects and publishes New York layoff and closure notices.

Timeline

March 1994 October 2026

2 events Latest: October 19th, 2026 · 3 weeks ago

October 2026
WARN notice filed for 610 Sixth Avenue
Latest Filing

Old Navy lists 44 affected employees and a January 22, 2027 closure date.
October 19th, 2026
March 1994
Old Navy opens its first stores
Founding

Three California locations open under the Old Navy name, a Gap Inc. discount brand.
March 11th, 1994

Scenarios

Store closes on schedule in January 2027

Likely Resolves by Feb 5, 2027

Discussed by: The filing itself, which sets the effective date

The notice gives January 22, 2027 as the closure date. If nothing changes, the Sixth Avenue store stops serving customers that week and the 44 listed employees lose their jobs, subject to whatever transfer or severance arrangements the company offers. WARN filings are usually honored on schedule; amendments are the exception, not the rule.

Closure date slips or the notice is amended

Possible Resolves by Apr 30, 2027

Discussed by: Retail lease and closure analysts who track WARN amendments

Employers sometimes file amended notices when a lease runs longer than expected, a landlord negotiates, or a store's last day moves. A revised entry on the state dashboard would show the date shifting later or the affected headcount changing. The current filing gives no indication either way.

More Old Navy closures follow in New York

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Retail-footprint analysts watching Gap Inc.'s store count

One 44-person notice is small. If it is the first of several, the pattern would show up as additional Old Navy entries on the same state dashboard. Nothing in this filing says whether it is isolated or part of a broader reduction, and the dashboard will show the answer before any company announcement does.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2019-2020

Gap Inc.'s abandoned Old Navy spin-off (2019-2020)

Gap Inc. announced it would split into two public companies and spin off Old Navy, then its largest and fastest-growing brand, as a standalone business. The plan was called off the following year before any shares were distributed.

Then

The company stayed whole, and the split's costs were written off.

Now

Old Navy remained the division carrying the parent company's growth expectations, which is why single-store decisions inside it get recorded and watched.

Why this matters now

The episode explains why a 44-person store notice from an $8.2 billion brand lands on a public dashboard at all: Old Navy is the part of Gap Inc. that the market treats as the main event.

1988

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (1988)

Congress passed a law requiring employers with 100 or more workers to give 60 days' notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. Before it, closures could arrive with a Friday afternoon announcement and a locked door on Monday.

Then

Employers began filing notices; states built systems to collect and publish them.

Now

The 60-day federal standard became a floor. New York runs a separate notice requirement and publishes filings on a public dashboard.

Why this matters now

This notice is the mechanism working as designed: 44 jobs, known 95 days in advance, published by a state agency before the store closes. The federal law alone would not have required it, since 44 is under the 50-employee single-site threshold.