United Furniture Industries laid off all 2,700 workers while they were sleeping

[Pete Ross Junior]

United Furniture Industries laid off all 2,700 workers while they were sleeping (NY Post)

A big US furniture company this week fired all of its 2,700 employees while they were sleeping, telling them in texts and emails not to come to work the next day, according to reports.

The mass firing on Tuesday by United Furniture Industries, which makes budget-friendly sofas and recliners for Simmons Upholstery, left thousands of employees including truck drivers and factory workers in North Carolina, Mississippi and California unemployed just two days before Thanksgiving.

“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,” the company said in messages to employees.

...

On Wednesday a former employee in Mississippi, Toria Neal, filed a lawsuit against UFI, alleging that the company violated federal law by failing to give 60 days’ notice before dissolving the operations.

Nothing in the article mentions unions.

[RKP5637]

1. Good example of why workers need unions to help protect them! n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

10. EXACTLY!!!

Whose right to work?

[TlalocW]

2. Moving production?

Over the border or overseas?

[Backseat Driver]

5. Think some of it already was overseas I think - Lane partner HQ in Dubai SA;

manufacturing in UAE...unforeseeable investor "adios"?

[Ray Bruns]

6. That would be my guess.

[Turbineguy]

3. Bad management creates good Unions.

[Backseat Driver]

4. Heavily invested in the crypto company/heist? n/t

Political stuff w/an investing Lane partner in DuBois; mfging in UAE saying "adios"?

[XanaDUer2]

7. Just in time for the holidays

Nice

[multigraincracker]

8. Always ask the sales person,

where is the Union Label?

[Pete Ross Junior]

9. +1 !!!!! n/t

[Farmer-Rick]

11. I'm surprised there are still furniture makers inside the US

Most furniture factories moved overseas, China mostly, in 2008 because of the cheap labor. I had friends layed off in North Carolina, in 2008 that didn't find new jobs for at least 5 years.

But there are still some furniture factories in North Carolina, just not as many as used to be there. But most of those companies bring in partially processed furniture wood from China and don't build as much from scratch as they used to.