Tweeter shuts down, leaving workers without pay

[stillcool]

Source: Boston Globe

Tuesday, 5:29 PM
From the Boston Globe Business Team
Tweeter shuts down, leaving workers without pay
December 2, 2008 05:29 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

The owners of bankrupt electronics chain Tweeter abruptly shuttered its stores today and fired more than 600 employees at 70 stores across the country days before the company was set to close for good, according to five Tweeter store managers and executives briefed on the situation.

The employees, including roughly 150 in Massachusetts, are still owed at least one week's pay, vacation time, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses that were promised as part of the liquidation sale, said the managers and executives who declined to be named because they are still owed money. Customers are unable to pick up merchandise they had already purchased and the liquidators handling the closing also have not been paid. Meanwhile, there is roughly $14 million worth of goods left in the locked stores.
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Craig Boucher , who works for turnaround company CRG Partners and has served as chief restructuring officer for Tweeter since it filed for bankruptcy protection again last month, declined to comment except to say: "Things will take care of themselves in due time."

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/12/tweeter_shuts_d.html

Read more: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/12/tweeter_shuts_d.html

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

1. Happy f*cking holidays, huh? I feel awful for those workers.

[msongs]

2. dems and repubs will bail them out like the trillion given to wall street w/no accountability? nt

[saigon68]

4. I doubt it

The owners of this mess aren't "privileged" ie from Andover

[stillcool]

8. "Tweeter"?

no way. Their pockets aren't nearly deep enough to get even a blip on the corporate welfare screen.

[MadMaddie]

3. Damn...it seems like these events are increasing.

[Double T]

5. HUGE number of small business failures is skyrocketing.

Meanwhile the criminals on wall street and 'too big to fail' corporate america are getting bailed out left and right.

[Andy823]

10. Maybe that was the plan!

Daddy Bush wanted his "new world order" and JR did all he could to get it, and that may just include what is happening now!

We have a few big oil companies who pretty much run things in that industry, we have a few drug companies that are the major producers of the drugs doctors recommend for their patients, the media is in the hands of a few "right" leaning corporations, banks are being bought up by a few "big" banks, and more and more small business's are going down just like every week a few more banks go down. This is happening all over the world, not just in the U.S., and much of the money is coming from the same big groups that have been getting "bailouts" from Bush Jr. Obama will be left with "trillions" in debt, an economy that's taking, and an unemployment rate that is climbing.

Can Obama and the dems pull us out of this mess? I really think it can be done, but it is going to take time, and a lot of support by not only the people of this country, but by people around the world. One this is for sure though no matter what happens things will never be the same again thanks to George W. Bush.

[Double T]

15. It will be difficult to undo the extreme damage done by bushco.

BO and the current DNC (Do Nothing Congress) must get tough with heavy regulations on 'too big' corporations and wall street. I just don't see that happening anytime soon as the corporate lobbyists are still in charge. The 'old guard' in the DNC needs to be replaced with new thinkers.

[Warpy]

6. I think we're going to start seeing a lot more of this, unfortunately

as the consumer economy sputters and threatens to die completely.

C'mon, Washington, you know what to do about it. You're just scared.

[flvegan]

7. Tweeter...for times like these.

[ksimons]

9. never walk out without your purchase IN-HAND!

same goes for workers and their paychecks I suppose. :)

Sad to say, you're right. This is going to be happening after the holidays more and more.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. Does this mean...

That The Tweeter Center will revert to being Great Woods Center for The Performing Arts?

[M0rpheus]

13. nope...

"The Tweeter Center is now named the Comcast Center.
We at Tweeter hope you have enjoyed all the music and good times at past Tweeter Center events. As of June 2008, the Tweeter Center will be known as the Comcast Center. Please click on the link below to find out more about the Comcast Center. "

http://info.tweeter.com/tweetercenter/

[Solano]

12. Give 'em a bailout

That solves every problem these days.

[Diana Prince]

14. This is happening all over.

I work for a company and was just hired in July. Our corporate boss is flying in tomorrow and everyone is scared. We already have had layoffs and most of the perks are gone.

Last year, according to people who have been around longer, the cafeteria served a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal for the employees for free. This year they charged $6 for Thanksgiving and it will be $3 for our Christmas meals. They have also cut out sponsored department parties. We are having ours, a lunch, in a restaurant that the managers chose. Not only do we have to pay for it, $15 each, but we have to clock out for the time we are gone.

I am lucky, right now I'm employed.