2,700 American furniture workers wake up to receive sack messages
A mega furniture company, United Furniture Industries (UFI) in North Carolina, Mississippi and California have sacked about 2,700 members of its staff, New York Post reports.
The workers received their sack messages via texts and emails early Wednesday morning before they could prepare for the day’s job.
UFI which makes budget-friendly sofas and loungers for Simmons Upholstery left thousands of employees including truck drivers and factory workers in these three US cities unemployed just two days before Thanksgiving.
The company revealed that the unforeseen business circumstances were a reason for the decision of laying off nearly 3000 workers in a day.
“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 November 21,” UFI said in messages to employees.
“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.”
The NYP reported that drivers were told they would be paid for the remainder of the week and that they should immediately “return equipment, inventory and delivery documents.”
Meanwhile, a UFI truck driver was arrested in Monroe County, Mississippi, on the notion of taking furniture off of a truck after he was laid off by the company.
