Saw an entire staff fired and replaced on the spot

[shopgirl15]

This is a story from my old job at a chocolate store (one named after a famous naked lady on a horse). I didn't see this myself, but my supervisor did and told me all about it in utter disbelief later that day.

The store was located inside a mall, and across from our doors in the middle of the mall walkway was a fruit smoothie kiosk staffed by about 5-6 people.

One day, my supervisor and another coworker were adjusting stuff by the front of the store when they saw who they guess was the new owner of the kiosk approach with a small group of people behind him.

Long story short, he told the working people that they were fired, and the group of people behind him were the new employees. The old staff was told to get out of the kiosk, and the new group just stepped in and started working.

Yeah. Just like that. My supervisor and the other coworker: Kind of glad I didn't have to witness that myself.

I don't know who it would be worse to be right there - one of the fired staff or one of the replacement people knowing I took the job from some poor person basically told to get lost via sucker-punch.

[XCashier]

Damn.

Unless the old staff were complete, total and utter gits, that's pretty brutal.

[smileyeagle1021]

Damn.

Unless the old staff were complete, total and utter gits, that's pretty brutal.

And, since it was done in the open like that, the new crew probably won't have jobs for long either, because events like that are massively bad PR.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Guess the kiosk owner decided to approach his job the same way a new owner of a sports team often does.

Fire all the existing people and replace them with your own people, because you can.

How awkward would it be to be a customer at that smoothie stand while this was going down?

[PepperElf]

wonder if they could claim unemployment on it. i mean if it was not a "with cause" firing etc.

[AccountingDrone]

wonder if they could claim unemployment on it. i mean if it was not a "with cause" firing etc.

I would imagine so, if nothing they could always have the investigators from the Labor Board ask at the other kiosk for witnesses.

I can not imagine them refusing if every single previous employee shows up with a claim on the same day claiming they were batch fired by the new owner.

[Moirae]

This is horrible, just really horrible.

[BrenDAnn]

Something similar happened when one of the fast food places in the town I work in changed owners last year. The new owners walked in, and told everyone there that they no longer had jobs. The difference is, they WERE given the option to reapply. The hiring standards were much more stringent under the new owners, though, from what I understand, so quite a few of them still ended up unemployed. I really can't imagine just chilling doing my job and then having the boss walk in and say everyone was fired right then and there. Talk about a brutal shock to the system!

[wolfie]

From what I've read here, both the case in the OP and BrenDAnn's case involved new owners - in other words, people who the workers had probably never seen before. Despite this, the workers take the stranger's word at face value and leave? Without confirmation coming through the chain of command (i.e. someone the workers KNOW has authority) that the person showing up is the REAL new boss (in this day and age, forged paperwork is easy), this could turn ugly VERY fast (2 calls to the police - one about con artists showing up and ordering everyone out - presumably to loot the place, the other about fired employees refusing to leave).

[KellyHabersham]

The difference is, they WERE given the option to reapply.

The church which I used to work for did something kind of like that - they decided to merge with a few other congregations in the area, and all of the employees (secretary, music director,....etc.) were told they wouldn't have jobs after a certain date, but they were invited to apply for the newly consolidated positions.

[Pixilated]

Assuming it was even legit (wolfie raised a good point), if I were one of the new employees, I'd still be job-hunting like mad. The new bosses have shown clearly what they're capable of.

[mathnerd]

Wow. If I was a mall customer and saw that I would never shop there again! I do understand a new owner wanting to come in and "clean house", but geesh, that was brutal. I wouldn't want to help a jerk like that earn any money.

[shopgirl15]

this could turn ugly VERY fast (2 calls to the police - one about con artists showing up and ordering everyone out - presumably to loot the place, the other about fired employees refusing to leave).

As far as I know that didn't happen. The new staff was there as long as I worked there, which was a good year. Dunno if they're still there.

[Captain Trips]

It happens elsewhere. It sounds a lot like how the CIO of where I used to work (until last week) did things when he came in. He got rid of the top level managers, and brought in his own people. And then restructured. Heavily.

(Personal rant ahead, not meant as a thread-jack.)

Seems one of those people had a reputation for cutting staff. And she was my boss' boss. I was out for two weeks on FMLA - I had my gall bladder removed and was recovering. Would have gone back to work yesterday. Thursday of last week, this new director called me to give me the boot. (This actually is legal, even under FMLA. "If the job were to be eliminated regardless of the FMLA, then it is permitted.")

Anyone know of a job for a computer tech in San Diego?

[Kagato]

Keep an eye on the papers to make sure that they do not advertise for that particular job position any time in the near future, they could get into VERY hot water for dismissing someone under the guise of liquidating a job then reinstating it to hire someone else to get out of paying redundancy.