Thanks, and good luck!
What can you say about a company that lays off employees after they return from lunch? No advance notice, just “Thanks, and good luck”. Plantation Products out of Norton, Massachusetts recently bought Ferry-Morse Seed, a company founded in 1856. According to WSPD’s website,“a large employer lets almost everyone go and the community can’t believe how they did it. Employees returned to the job after lunch only to learn they no longer have a job. It happened just after noon Friday at the 53-year-old Ferry Morse Seed Factory in Fulton, Kentucky.”
Who is Plantation Products? According to their website they, “can be found throughout the United States in national chains such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Osco Drug, Ace Hardware, TruValue Stores, and at many regional outlets.” Ferry-Morse has been a box store staple for awhile so the two companies will likely fit well together. Seems they could have handled the employee concerns better. “Thanks, and good luck?”
We do not sell, or intend to sell products owned by these companies.
I am glad to say we cut our ties with Ferry Morse before the start of the season. We most certainly will be looking to replace any Jiffy products left on our shelves. Good bye and good luck to Plantation Products!
Good for you Regina! Same here.
You know, I’ve seen several blogs commenting on the fact that the employees were let go after lunch, as if the timing was somehow awful, and I don’t get it. Is there really a correct time to lay someone off? I work in an industry that is shrinking and there have been a lot of mergers and lay offs so maybe I’m immune to the proper etiquette. Seriously, anyone who works for a company in the middle of a merger who doesn’t thin k that their job has the potential for going away is just not paying attention.
When two companies merge, there is an expectation that there will be some positions that are redundant. How you feel about that really depends on which side of the redundancy you are on. If you are with the group that is retained, and end up working for a company that is more fiscally sound due to the merger, you’ll think it’s a great thing. If you are let go, you often are not so enthusiastic, but anyone working for a company in the middle of a merger should assume that their job – and their value to the company – will come under scrutiny as a part of the process. Does getting laid off stink? Sure does. But it happens. How many people do you know who run small businesses or work for themselves, who got the push or the idea to start their business when they were unexpectedly unemployed. I know lots, me included.
Kandi,
We agree on much.
Where we don’t comes down to “etiquette”, or simple compassion. Some of these people have been packing seed bags for 35 years. Maybe they do hear rumors. “let’s go to lunch”, and then when returning get laid off? These times are trying on many of us, with more layoffs in our trade likely. Never-the-less, it’s the little things that take on greater meaning during times like this. It’s our humanity that makes it all worth while. Holding the door open for someone, saying “please”, picking up a dropped item for an elderly person, smiling at someone, etc. We need to keep our humanity while doing what is necessary to keep our businesses solvent. The way in which this was done showed a lack of humanity.
What they did is also incredibly bad PR, which is why we are all talking about this. Not good for business.
While there is probably no correct time to lay people off, most companies do ask for 2 weeks notice, or similar, from employees who are moving on. Most employers would agree that an employee who didn’t give notice wouldn’t be viewed favorably, to say the least. I would expect a company to follow the same policy. Even if the workers should have expected changes and possible lay offs, PP’s behavior is not excusable. I’m sure they knew they were laying those people off in advance of that day. They were looking out for their own interests, waiting until the last minute. Poor practices should be scrutinized whether they come from ownership, management or labor. Should we expect the worst possible behavior for reasons of efficiency and the cheapest price we can get, or support companies who choose to value their employees and customers despite the extra cost? . I know where I stand on that. I hope suppliers who can provide similar products, along with good ethics, are paying attention and ready to convince us they deserve our business.
Regina,
I agree with you. While keeping the business solvent is important, it seems some biz just don’t know how to do these things with any compassion. If they treat their own employees this way, how will they treat the customer? Not even going to give them the chance.
Like I mentioned to Kandi, even if some feel the company did nothing wrong, it was still terrible PR on their part.