Thursday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Thursday’s business headlines.

Potbelly

The COVID-19 pandemic whacked Potbelly in March. now, the Chicago-based restaurant chain said it’s considering shuttering 100 of its approximately 440 restaurants.

CEO Alan Johnson said that while January and February were good months for the chain, March was a disaster.

Tyson

Tyson Foods is lowering some prices it charges supermarkets and restaurants for beef, after coronavirus-driven disruptions at meatpacking plants have led to a surge in meat costs.

The Arkansas company, which processes about one-fifth of the nation’s beef, plans to reduce prices for ground beef, roasts and other beef products by as much as 20% to 30% for sales made this week.

Job rate

Goldman Sachs also says it sees the U.S. jobless rate peaking at 25% instead of 15%.

The bank also thinks second-quarter GDP will decline by an astonishing 39%.

Tts data suggests a collapse in transportation, hotel and entertainment spending.

Layoffs

Millions more are likely to be added to the tally when weekly jobless claims come out Thursday.

Economists estimate the Labor Department will report that 2.5 million Americans filed new applications for unemployment insurance last week, down from the 3.2 million the prior week.

That would push total unemployment claims the past eight weeks to a staggering 36 million.