According to accounts, a large US furniture company sacked all 2,700 of its employees this week while they were asleep and instructed them via messages and emails not to report to work the following day.
Just two days before Thanksgiving, United Furniture Industries, which produces affordable couches and recliners for Simmons Upholstery, fired thousands of people, including truck drivers and manufacturing workers in North Carolina, Mississippi, and California.
In notifications to staff members, the business stated, “At the instruction of the board of directors, we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately, on Nov. 21. With the exception of over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery. Your layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.”
According to the memo, drivers were informed that they would continue to be paid for the rest of the week and that they needed to return their tools, merchandise, and delivery paperwork right away.
After being fired from his job, a UFI truck driver was detained in Monroe County, Mississippi, on suspicion of removing furniture from a truck.
It’s unknown why the 20-year-old business abruptly stopped operating, but FurnitureToday.com reports that it had removed its CEO, CFO, and executive vice president of sales over the summer.
A UFI representative told Freightwaves.com on Tuesday that staff members were later informed they could go to their work locations to collect their items.
A laid-off employee told the media that it is unfair for the workers who truly worked so hard to be caught off guard in this way. It’s unfair to the new mother to make assumptions about her health insurance coverage. It is unfair to ask a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy how she will pay for her medical care.
