BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. (AP) — The likely liquidation of the Borders book chain is a sign of the state of the publishing industry, not a reflection of Michigan's business climate, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday.
About 450 of Borders' 10,700 employees work in Ann Arbor, where the company is based, according to AnnArbor.com. Borders' website lists 32 stores in Michigan. A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking details on the chain's total Michigan employment.
"Borders has a very important Michigan history, but this has to do with the changing dynamics of the book business as opposed to doing business in Michigan," said Snyder's spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher. "We'll want to look closely from the jobs perspective of people in the state."
Snyder, a Republican, is a former Ann Arbor businessman who was elected in November.
Borders Group is seeking court approval to liquidate its stores after failing to find a buyer. The 40-year old book seller could start liquidating its 399 remaining stores as early as Friday.
"It saddens me. It adds to the unemployment and lets me know this economy is not really picking up as they are saying. I feel for the families that are going to be faced without a job," said Turesa Lewis, 57, before entering a Borders store in the Detroit suburb of Beverly Hills.
Though now only an occasional customer, the Southfield woman said she was a frequent Borders shopper when her children were younger. The family's routine was that the kids would pick out books, she'd pay for them, and they'd read them together at home.
Lewis blamed Borders' troubles partly on the technology that lets people read books online.
"I think a hardcover book is the best when it comes to reading," she said. "Things are changing a bit too fast."
Tanya Ellis, 42, of Southfield, said the closings are "horrible."
Whatever role reading online or on portable readers plays for others, the technology just doesn't work for her, Ellis said.
"It takes all the fun out of it," she said before going into the store.
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