MIDDLEBORO — Two hundred thirty-two employees will lose their jobs at the Christmas Tree Shops warehouse in Middleboro within the next two weeks, company officials notified Town Manager James McGrail in a letter sent to his office.

“It was hard to read the letter and realize the impact on all those people’s families,’’ McGrail said.

The warehouse is the second largest private employer in town, according to the Office of Economic and Community Development. Only the Old Colony YMCA, with 266 workers, has more workers among Middleboro’s private industries. 

The town hopes to work with Mass Hire, a state agency that connects job seekers with employment opportunities, to help employees affected by the closure, McGrail said.

Layoffs are expected to continue through July 21, according to the letter. The impacted employees are not represented by a union, the letter states. 

The national retailer has operated a 785,000 square foot distribution center in the Campanelli Business Park on Leona Drive since 1996. The site is by far the largest facility in the business park, the town has stated. 

The warehouse employs a range of positions, including data analysts, security specialists, IT technicians and shipping staff, according to the letter.

The job loss notification represents the latest development in the company’s struggles. 

In May, the chain filed for bankruptcy because of stores underperforming. The company’s plan to close its remaining 83 stores and cease operations completely was detailed in court documents filed in U.S. bankruptcy court on June 28. There had been hope that a buyer would emerge, the company had stated, but this has not been the case. 

The privately held Christmas Tree Shops was founded in 1950 as a seasonal gift shop and grew into a thriving year-round enterprise. At the beginning of this year, it operated more than 80 stores, including 15 in Massachusetts. 

Yet CTS, as the company rebranded itself, has been struggling for some time. Rising interest rates and oil prices piled on top of the troubles felt by most brick-and-mortar retailers during the pandemic.

In a bankruptcy declaration statement May 5, Marc Salkovitz, who owns the business with his wife Pam Salkovitz,  said customer traffic in the stores decreased by about 35 percent since May 2022,  and sales slid by 25 percent. 

The stores have begun going out of business sales, with both merchandise and store equipment, fixtures and furnishings available for sale in closing locations. 

Gift cards will no longer be sold or honored as of July 21, the company has reported.