Market Basket Clarifies Employee Cuts

Written by Tony Schinella

After hundreds of part-time employees, possibly even thousands, in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts were told that they were being laid-off from Market Basket’s 71-store chain today, the company is offering clarifying statements, ordering store directors to tell employees that their hours are being cut and they are not losing their jobs.

An email was issued to media outlets about at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, from Felicia Thornton, one of the new co-CEOs of the company, clarifying the action taken by the company earlier today.

“I have issued an immediate communication for all Store Directors,” Thornton noted. “All Store Directors are to let their associates know that they are not laid off. All Store Directors as part of their normal responsibilities are able to and often do reduce hours but they need to make clear when doing so that the individuals are still employees of DSM.”

A company spokesperson also offered clarifying remarks, stating, “Store Directors were not instructed to lay off associates, but to adjust hours to meet current demand. It is our hope that we will be back to normal business levels in the not too distant future and all associates will be back to a full schedule.”

Market Basket officials are working to “return to full operations” and are directing store directors to “receive deliveries and stock their shelves.”

A number of media outlets, including Patch, spoke to employees and family members of employees today who stated they were being told by store managers that they were laid off.

WMUR-TV is reporting that hundreds of employees in Nashua were laid-off “temporarily” earlier today. The Lowell Sun posted signs from a store in Lowell, MA, with a note informing employees of “major cutbacks in our schedules” and another handwritten note telling employees, “please file for unemployment benefits.” Thornton’s number and the contact number of the Mass. Attorney General’s Office were also included on the notice.