An US-based furniture company fired 2,700 employees via text message, says report

An American furniture company laid off nearly 2,700 workers just before midnight on November 21, according to The Guardian.  The company informed the employees of their termination via text and email, and asked them not to report to work the following day. United Furniture Industries, known for producing low-cost sofas and recliners for Simmons Upholstery, laid off thousands of workers just two days before Thanksgiving.

The drivers who were on the road delivering furniture were instructed to go home, according to the report. When they received the "regret letter" informing them of their layoff on Monday, it was just before midnight, and many of them were asleep.

"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 regret letter stated as per the New York Post report.

Additionally, the company instructed its drivers to do so immediately, regardless of whether they had finished their deliveries, in order to "return equipment, inventory, and delivery documents".

Unfortunately, the employees were not given an explanation for their abrupt dismissal. The two-decade-old business abruptly ceased operations. According to the New York Post, the company fired its CEO, CFO, and executive vice president of sales over the summer.

According to a UFI spokesperson, workers were later told they could come to their workspaces to "gather their belongings."

An employee who was laid off expressed his dismay and informed the portal, "It's not fair to the labourers who seriously worked so hard to be blindsided like this. It's not fair to the mom who just had a baby to wonder if she even has health insurance to cover it. It's not fair to the cancer patient in the midst of chemo about how to pay for her treatments."

An employee has sued the company for failing to provide 60 days' notice.

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