Bankruptcies were significant in 2024; here are some of the biggest ones

In 2024 several well-known companies have filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. Some have filed for major financial restructuring, allowing them to continue operating, while others have announced the closure of many physical sites to stave off liquidation.

Commercial establishments suffered the most. However, several restaurant chains and one airline are affected.

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Spirit Airlines

The budget airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, facing more than $1 billion in pending debt payments and accumulating more than $2.5 billion in losses as of 2020. this way. Spirit has faced challenges such as reduced passenger numbers during the pandemic, competition from larger carriers and, most importantly, a stalled merger with JetBlue.

Despite the filing, Spirit continues to operate as customers are allowed to book flights and redeem frequent flyer points.

Large Lots

The discount retailer, with more than 1,300 locations, filed for bankruptcy protection in September. With declining sales and mounting debt that reached $3.1 billion, the retailer initially announced it would close approximately 545 stores. The company later announced that due to a failed deal with private equity firm Nexus Capital, it would close all remaining 963 locations.

However, on Dec. 27, the company announced a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC that will prevent the potential closure of all other locations. There are no details yet on which locations will remain open, and the deal still requires approval from a bankruptcy judge.

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Red lobster

The seafood chain, which opened its first location in Lakeland, Fla., in 1968, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. The company had significant financial challenges, including higher food costs, higher wages and rising commercial rents. Food prices also halted traffic as many more people decided to cook at home.

Some analysts also pointed to Red Lobster’s “endless shrimp” deal, where customers could eat as much shrimp as they wanted for just $20. A report in the Los Angeles Times spoke with a woman who boasted that she ate 108 shrimp during a four-hour meal.

“I think the difference between something like Olive Garden with endless breadsticks and Red Lobster with Bottomless Shrimp is that the shrimp is like an appetizer, while the breadsticks are more of a byproduct,” Jim Salera, a research analyst at Stephens focused on restaurants and packaged food and beverages, told FOX Business. “The goal of any kind of deal like this is to attract consumers and then either add additional purchases to the ticket, whether it’s alcohol or, you know, appetizers, things like that expand the ticket.”

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“You already have a small profit margin,” Salera said. “You can very easily go beyond that when you’re bringing in consumers who just want to have that one item or engage with that one offering, rather than branching out into the menu.”

Eric Revel of Fox Business contributed to this report.