ORLANDO, Fla. — Just like most of the other Bojangles employees at eight stores in central Florida, Manisha Scott found out Sunday she would not have a job Monday.
The owner of the eight franchises made the decision to close and focus on his real estate business.
Scott doesn’t fault the owner for closing the stores, but she does take exception to the short notice the employees were given.
“I've got to face my kids and tell them their Christmas is not going to be the way we planned, because mommy doesn’t have a job to provide,” she said.
One employee, Cardae Hunter, found out she would no longer have a job from a customer.
“Basically, a customer came in and told me what was going on,” she said. “Yeah, they knew before I did.”
There are laws that require employers with more than 50 employees give them 60 days notice before shutting down. That doesn’t apply in this situation, because there have to be 50 employees at a single location, not 150 spread over eight properties.
The owner, identified as Gregg Hill, could have left the stores open until the end of the year but just decided not to, regardless of how it would affect employees, Hunter said.
“He was trying to make every little dollar he could and just forget everybody else. That's what I think,” she said.
Scott was dealing with the same kind of feelings after being laid off.
“I feel like they're heartless, and they don't care about anything but themselves and their money,” she said.
Calls seeking comment from Hill were not immediately returned.
WFTV
