United Furniture Industries, a Mississippi based furniture business has laid off its entire workforce overnight. Moreover, most of laid off employees live in northeast Mississippi.
Layoffs memo
According to Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, approximately 2,700 workers lost their jobs on Monday. Furthermore, United Furniture Industries sent a memo to its workers through text or email. The memo informed them to not to report to their shift the subsequent day. In addition, over-the-road drivers who were out on deliveries were told to immediately return to a United Furniture location to turn in their trucks.
“Your layoff from the Company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.” the memo said. COBRA refers to the federal law that gives people who lose their jobs an option to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage under some circumstances. The memo also stated that the company’s board of directors made the layoff decision and cited unforeseen reasons for the decision. Moreover, the memo did not have any specific details or circumstances which led to this decision. In addtion, the compnay did not commented on the matter as of yet.
The decision came as a surprise
This is a shocking downfall for a company that emerged as one of the largest furniture companies in the country. In addition, the company has multiple plants across United States. These include Amory, Belden, Hatley, Nettleton, Okolona, Vardaman, Verona and Wren. Moreover, the company also had six plants in North Carolina and one in California. Furthermore, Lee County Administrator Bill Benson called the mass layoffs a “terrible” situation. “I know the board is ready to do anything it can to assist in the efforts of placing these folks. Benson said. However, Benson was unsure of any specific action which the board can take.
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