Oprah's Harpo Studios Will Start Laying Off All Of Its Chicago Staff

By Kate Shepherd in News on Nov 5, 2015 8:00PM

Oprah Winfrey/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey's famous Harpo Studios will start letting its 183 employees go next month. The studio is relocating from the West Loop to the West Coast.

Harpo notified the State of Illinois that layoffs would start on Dec. 11 and be finished by April 1, according to RedEye. Winfrey stopped by her old headquarters in March to let her staff know that Dec. 11 would be the last day of production at the Chicago studio.

Developer Sterling Bay bought the iconic space last year and Harpo's lease runs out in April. She filmed her last show at the studio in May of 2011 and now she's moving on to new ventures like buying 10 percent of Weight Watchers.

Employers with at least 75 full-time employees are required under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to provide 60 days' notice to the state of pending plant closings or mass layoffs.

Several other companies also reported job cuts this quarter include Barclays Capital and Cracker Barrel.