The proprietor of United Furnishings Industries — which final week fired 2,700 staff by means of texts and emails whereas they slept — has disappeared after squabbling with the corporate’s board and bankers over whether or not to file for chapter, The Publish has realized.
David Belford, a rich Ohio businessman, has saved mum for the reason that layoffs of his complete workforce in Mississippi, North Carolina and California within the days earlier than Thanksgiving — regardless of efforts by lenders and attorneys representing axed staff to achieve UFI, in keeping with a number of sources.
“Nobody has heard from the proprietor. He’s not returning anybody’s cellphone calls. It’s such a horrible scenario,” one supply with data of the scenario informed The Publish.
The Publish has made a number of makes an attempt to contact Belford. One lawyer representing tons of of laid off staff in Mississippi, Philip Hearn, mentioned rumors are swirling amongst former staff that Belford had jetted off to Paris after the firings.
The board of the Tupelo, Miss.-based firm held an emergency assembly on Nov. 20 and decided to file for Chapter 11 chapter safety. However the subsequent day, Belford nixed the plan, in keeping with Hearn, who's representing greater than 600 UFI staff in Mississippi, together with many senior-level staff.
“Belford mentioned ‘We aren't going ahead with a Chapter 11,’” in keeping with Hearn. “It sounds just like the administration staff got here up with a plan to save lots of the corporate and Belford mentioned, ‘That’s a wrap — not doing it.’”
UFI’s staff obtained frantic emails and texts whereas they slept on Nov. 21 telling them to not come to work the following day as a result of their jobs had been eradicated efficient instantly together with their well being care advantages.
Belford’s silence has left UFI’s lenders and a handful of individuals near the corporate scrambling to determine what to do with its property, leases and jilted staff, sources informed The Publish.
Regardless of the corporate’s dire scenario, it has not filed for chapter safety or liquidation. Belford is the one individual with the authority to make authorized selections, a supply with data of the scenario informed The Publish.
“He irresponsibly shut down his firm with out advance discover to anybody,” the supply mentioned. “And he has the means to do that the correct approach.”
Formally, UFI blamed “unexpected enterprise circumstances” for the layoffs, however privately Belford is pointing a finger on the firm’s lenders, which embrace Wells Fargo, Hearn alleged.
Wells Fargo informed The Publish it had no inkling of Belford’s resolution.
“Wells Fargo was saddened to be taught of the abrupt shutdown of United Furnishings Industries, Inc. and its affiliated corporations (“UFI”),” the financial institution mentioned in a press release to The Publish. “As soon as notified of the corporate proprietor’s resolution, we instantly reached out to UFI’s senior management to handle the implications of the actions taken by the corporate’s proprietor and help its staff.”
UFI was extremely leveraged and wanted extra capital, sources inform The Publish.
Belford, who lives within the prosperous Columbus suburb of Gahanna, owns a number of different corporations together with Solstice Sleep Merchandise and an funding agency known as Stage Capital.
He has donated tens of millions to charities and non-profits largely through the Belford Household Charitable Fund. Amongst his largesse was a $10 million reward to determine a spinal wire harm analysis middle at Ohio State College’s Wexner Medical Heart.
Former staff preserve that there was no trace of the UFI’s monetary struggles regardless of a administration shake-up over the summer season by which UFI’s CEO, chief monetary officer and government vp of gross sales have been axed and a few 500 staff have been laid off.
However UFI continued so as to add new staff to its ranks, together with some whose first and final day was Nov. 21, in keeping with employment lawyer Jack Raisner, who's representing former California staff in a proposed class-action grievance alleging that UFI violated federal legislation by failing to provide staff 60 days discover by issuing so-called WARN notices.
Belford was personally chargeable for firing “UFI’s long-standing CEO and CFO in 2022 [replacing them] with people who had beforehand held low-level managerial positions,” in keeping with the California grievance.
WARN notices lastly reached staff on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29, reiterating what they’d already identified — that their employment, well being advantages and pay ended instantly on Nov. 21.
“Lots of people have real issues due to their lack of medical protection and a few had scheduled procedures” that they'll’t afford now, mentioned William “Jack” Simpson, a Mississippi lawyer who filed a proposed class-action lawsuit – one in all not less than 4 such complaints – on behalf of laid-off staff.
One fired human useful resource employee, Invoice Burke — who was employed three weeks earlier than the mass layoffs — continues to discipline questions from frantic staff about how one can get new well being care insurance coverage. UFI had given him an organization cellular phone that hasn’t been disconnected.
“I’m answering it from my house,” Burke informed The Publish. “My future is simply as unsure as everybody else’s.”
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