{"id":459049,"date":"2026-10-07T12:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/459049\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:26:11","slug":"layoffs-sweep-controversial-military-brand-in-san-antonio-el-paso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/459049\/","title":{"rendered":"Layoffs sweep controversial military brand in San Antonio, El Paso"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"A WARN alert from the Texas Workforce Commission reveals dozens of layoffs planned at Grunt Style LLC across its San Antonio and El Paso stores.\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A WARN alert from the Texas Workforce Commission reveals dozens of layoffs planned at Grunt Style LLC across its San Antonio and El Paso stores.<\/p>\n<p>William Luther, Staff \/ Staff<\/p>\n<p>Yet another round of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/business\/article\/mass-layoff-texas-22431113.php\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">layoffs<\/a> is expected to strike San Antonio residents before the year&#8217;s end. It comes amid recent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.twc.texas.gov\/data-reports\/warn-notice\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">data<\/a> showing the average unemployment rate in Texas lingering above\u00a0the national average.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&amp;template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl\" alt=\"\" class=\"x1px y1px vh abs\" aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The latest sweep is impacting San Antonio- and El Paso-area Grunt\u00a0Style LLC employees, according to a Worker Adjustment &amp; Retraining Notification (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.twc.texas.gov\/data-reports\/warn-notice\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">WARN<\/a>) notice from the Texas Workforce Commission. Two notices were recorded on Friday, October 2, stating that 28 people will be laid off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Alamo City residents will see the most, with a count of 19, per the Texas Workforce Commission. Nine individuals at the El Paso shop will be let go. For both, the layoff start date is listed as Monday, November 30. The San Antonio spot sits at 900 Broadway, and the El Paso-area store is in Canutillo.<\/p>\n<p>Grunt Style is an online and in-person clothing business that describes its mission as &#8220;bringing patriotic apparel to every home in America.&#8221; Founded in 2009 by Daniel Alarik, a former Army drill sergeant, the brand&#8217;s items feature flags, weapons, and military-related phrases. The company is veteran-owned and operated, with 13 locations across the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The company has faced some controversy in recent years. In 2020, Alarik was ousted as CEO, a past <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/news\/local\/article\/Here-s-what-you-should-know-about-the-leadership-15639386.php\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">MySA report<\/a> cites. That same year, he sued the company, alleging a contract violation. Alarik claimed the company fired him without proper compensation or medical coverage amid his wife&#8217;s battle with cancer. Grunt Style officials argued against Alarik&#8217;s claims and released screenshots of emails allegedly showing offers to cover medical expenses until negotiations could be resolved.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"After Grunt Style founder Daniel Alarik sued the company, it made several accusations against him.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>After Grunt Style founder Daniel Alarik sued the company, it made several accusations against him.<\/p>\n<p>Kin Man Hui \/ Staff photographer<\/p>\n<p>The current CEO is Kevin Corning, a Northwestern University graduate who\u00a0stepped into the role in October 2025, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kevin-corning-3a44515\/\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Also in 2020, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.expressnews.com\/sa-inc\/article\/A-Reckoning-Grunt-Style-An-inside-look-at-San-15629615.php\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">San Antonio Express-News<\/a> reported on claims\u00a0from some employees, who alleged that the workplace environment was volatile and featured drinking, with at least one referring to it as a &#8220;frat house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The following year, the company launched the Grunt Style Foundation, a\u00a0nonprofit that supports military transitions and sustainment, food insecurity, and homelessness, according to the company&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruntstyle.com\/pages\/about\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, Grunt Style LLC enjoyed a win when, in June 2026, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court&#8217;s ruling in favor of Grunt Style LLC and against TWD, a California party that also sells goods with military-related trademarks, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca7\/25-1305\/25-1305-2025-06-12.html\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">online\u00a0records<\/a>. TWD filed a complaint against Grunt Style LLC in 2018 alleging trademark infringement, as both sold merchandise with the phrase &#8220;This We&#8217;ll Defend.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The district court found that Grunt Style had established common-law priority in the mark, and dismissed\u00a0TWD\u2019s claims and cancelled its federal registration,&#8221; the order states. &#8220;The case went to trial on Grunt Style\u2019s counterclaims, and a jury found TWD liable for infringement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Grunt Style was awarded\u00a0damages and pre- and post-judgment interest, and the court ordered TWD to stop future use of the mark, court records <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca7\/25-1305\/25-1305-2026-06-10.html\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">state<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Grunt Style\u00a0layoffs outside of Texas<\/p>\n<p>The layoffs are not limited to Texas, per the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sbj.net\/stories\/clothing-store-closing-branson-location,106017\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Springfield Business Journal<\/a>. The online newspaper reports that 10 layoffs are planned for the Grunt Style at Tanger Outlets Branson in Missouri, also effective next month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>MySA reached out to Grunt Style via phone and email but did not receive a response regarding the layoffs in time for publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A WARN alert from the Texas Workforce Commission reveals dozens of layoffs planned at Grunt Style LLC across&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139,821,820],"class_list":["post-459049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-mysabusiness","tag-mysastaff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}