On March 14th, Silver Sprocket owner and Founder Avi Ehrlich announced the publisher had been forced to layoff three employees. Although a recent membership drive hit its goal, it wasn’t enough in these uncertain times.
The post states that due to the current economic forces affecting bookstores, the distributor bankruptcies, a flood, and other financial forces, the difficult decision was made to layoff three of the crew members: Maloney, Simon, and Jack. Simon has worked at Silver Sprocket for 7 years, Sarah for 4 years, and Jack for 1 year with the San Francisco based company. 
Unlike some of the other recent corporate layoffs, Ehrlich’s statement made it clear how painful the decision was:
We are not immune to the global economic forces affecting bookstores right now, and the personal debt that I’ve been drawing upon to keep the team together is unfortunately no longer tenable. While I wanted to do right by our crew in offering benefits and competitive pay, I unfortunately did not consider the long term implications that would have on our finances. Compounded by a flood, distributor bankruptcies, and more, the store was losing too much money and not in a sustainable position.
While our recent subscription drive was incredible with 300 memberships, the extra monthly revenue was not enough to maintain our level of staffing.
As a result, I had to make the heartbreaking decision to lay off three of our crew members. Each has received three weeks of severance pay, and our two full-time crew members have been provided with two months of additional company-provided healthcare coverage.
https://bsky.app/profile/silversprocket.net/post/3lkecapxbzo2
With the staffing cuts, Silver Sprocket’s storefront will be economically sustainable, Ehrlich noted.
In yet another sign of how close knit the community around Silver Sprocket is, a GoFundMe for the three employees has been set up, to help pay their bills while they look for work. The campaign has already nearly reached its goal.
As economic uncertainty grips the comics business and the economy in general, these most likely won’t be the last layoffs we see in the comics business. We’re unlikely to see staff cuts handled with more empathy however.
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