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A growing cohort of smaller companies that survived the cold depths of the pandemic say now they’re in danger because the economy is too hot, Bloomberg News reported. Mattress sellers, flooring manufacturers and makers of clean energy equipment are warning that stretched supply chains and runaway freight bills have pushed them to the brink of ruin. Unlike global giants, they don’t have the cash and scale to hire their own cargo ships or pass on the soaring expenses, forcing them to seek private bailouts. The roster includes Casper Sleep Inc., which accepted a buyout at a fire-sale price along with a costly bridge loan. Armstrong Flooring Inc., reeling from a 21% cost increase, expects to violate its loan agreement, a fate that has already overtaken TPI Composites Inc., which got cash from distressed-debt specialists to keep the maker of wind turbine blades afloat. “Covid was tough enough to figure out in terms of consumer behavior, increased leverage,” said Lisa Donahue, global co-head of restructuring at AlixPartners. “And then you add stress on the supply chain, coupled with inflation — that makes it really complicated,” she said. “If you have high leverage and other fixed costs to start with, you’re going to find yourself getting pushed a lot closer to the edge.” Read more. 

Explore the many issues that arise when suppliers are unable to make deliveries of promised parts due to financial problems with ABI's Interrupted! Understanding Bankruptcy's Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains.

Small businesses are having increasing difficulty finding job candidates with the skills they need, a new survey found, the Washington Examiner reported. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife survey reported that 49% of small businesses now say they are struggling to find qualified workers, a number that is up sharply from June, when 34% said the same. Additionally, 46% said it is either somewhat hard or very hard to find candidates with the right amount of experience, up from 35% in June. Small businesses also reported double-digit increases when asked about difficulty finding enough talent to fill open positions and their ability to compete for candidates with larger businesses in their area.

Manzo Lobster & Oyster Bar hasn’t had it easy since opening in Denver in September 2020. Like much of the food industry, the seafood restaurant has seen a slowdown in traffic as a result of the pandemic and is struggling with staffing shortages, the Denver Post reported. A month after opening, the business was sued by the former tenant in its space. And last week, the restaurant owned by Richard Manzo filed for chapter 11 protection — in large part to stop ongoing litigation. According to the filing, Manzo Lobster & Oyster Bar — technically Seafood Junkie LLC — owes $258,009 to about 20 creditors and has assets worth $57,500. The restaurant said it had gross revenue of $208,354 in 2020. As of the Oct. 14 filing date, the company’s 2021 revenue was $1.1 million. The lawsuit against the restaurant was filed in October 2020 by Marg’s Taco Bistro, which alleged the restaurant failed to pay $30,000 for the transfer of a liquor license after the two entered into an asset purchase agreement in 2019. Four days after the bankruptcy was filed, the case was closed. Manzo Lobster & Oyster Bar filed chapter 11 bankruptcy under the new subchapter V, which was introduced last March and is an abbreviated version of the usual process that’s designed for small businesses.