The Day the Music Died: Guitar Center Shutting Down Locations + Laying Off Workers

Guitar Center has been a staple in American music culture for more than 50 years.

Having around 300 locations nationwide, there are bound to be some hiccups in the chain somewhere.

Now, Guitar Center has decided to close two California sores. The chain issued a press release, stating, "As part of our ongoing business processes and after careful consideration, Guitar Center has made the decision to close retail storefronts in West Los Angeles and Gilroy, California, effective January 23, 2025."

With the closure of these two locations comes a notice to the state of California of a mass layoff of workers.

According to Warntracker.com, 62 employees will be laid off on March 10, 2025.

If the storefronts have closed before then, which they seemingly have, that just means that Guitar Center is paying the laid off employees through March 10, even though they no longer report to work anymore.

Guitar Center also released a statement about the current state of their stores and what the future holds for the musical retail giant.

"Guitar Center will continue retail operations as usual in its 300+ stores, and the first-class experience and services will remain unchanged."

They continued into their latest endeavor about expanding their presence while optimizing their existing stores, letting everyone know that they just opened a store in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 30, 2025.

Guitar Center is one of America's best places to not only purchase musical instruments, but also to try them out and have a little fun. You can take your kids there and let them strum a guitar for the first time or pop a snare drum or two.

The chain isn't going anywhere, but as they continue to optimize their stores, we could see more locations closing while more open at the same time, in different locations that will better serve the community and are more profitable.