David Belford: Loathed United Furniture boss who fired staff as they slept was 'unaware' biz was tanking
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: David Belford, the owner of United Furniture, who received a lot of backlashes after he fired thousands of employees while they slept in late November, has reemerged, claiming that he was unaware of the severity of his failing business. After the announcements of layoffs on November 21, Belford went weeks without being heard and spoke in the middle of this month to a trade publication where he said, "My insight into the company's finances was limited."
The 62-year-old termed himself as a 'passive investor' in United Furniture and said that he should not be blamed for the meltdown as 'only very recently' he learned how bad things were. Despite his claims, UFI employees are suing the company. The attorney representing the agitated employees, Philip Hearn, asked, "Who looks like a bigger Scrooge than this guy?" According to the reports of the New York Post, Belford is still chairman of the board of UFI and has taken a key role in active litigation. He tried to pass off the blame, saying, "Unfortunately, the reality of UFI's circumstances was brought to the board's attention far too late."
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The employees were promised they would receive W2 statements from an HR executive. According to Daily Mail, Hearn said Belford only rehired those HR execs "to save face because he was getting hammered." Belford chose not to comment on the rumors that he flew off to Paris in the wake of the announcement. UFI's lenders were left clueless on what to do with the business' assets, buildings, and furious employees in his absence. A source told the Post, that Belford is the only individual in the company who can call the shots and make legal decisions. "He irresponsibly shut down his company without advance notice to anyone,' the source said. 'And he has the means to do this the right way."
In late November, 2700 workers, most of whom live in northeast Mississippi, with others in North Carolina and California, lost their jobs at United Furniture Industries. The incomprehensible firings have set off several lawsuits based on the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, which forces companies with more than 100 employees to give 60 days advance to all employees who are being laid off.
While many men were sleeping, the digital announcement was made overnight via text message and email. The layoffs come as economic experts predict a recession to hit in 2023. The memo said the layoffs were made, "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 November 21," it read in part.
The memo did not detail what led to the layoffs, merely referring to it as a "difficult and unexpected situation." Furniture Today, a trade publication, reported that United fired its chief executive, replacing him with current CEO Todd Evans. Despite a management shake-up in the summer, employees claimed there was no hint that the company was struggling financially prior to the layoffs.
