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Veteran Tweeter Employee Speculates About Store Reopening
What would you do if you were an employee (or is it former employee) of Tweeter? We've all heard the recent stories about employees not get paid their wages and what they… View this discussion thread.
The source says district managers have contacted store managers about availability and that, in turn, store employees have been contacted as well.
The disgruntled employee, peering through the window of a Tweeter store around 10 a.m. Thursday morning, says the same inventory that was in the store Monday night is still there.
The employee says it also appears that somebody had recently moved some signs around inside the store.
"From that alone, it's my feeling that the store will reopen [for liquidation]," the employee told CE Pro.
Tweeter was granted Chapter 7 bankruptcy by a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, according to TWICE. This would allow the big-box retailer to open up stores and continue liquidation.
The company also requested, in a filing with the SEC, that $900,000 be put aside in a fund for employee wages and taxes.
The source says employees haven't been informed how that $900,000 will be divided. The source believes employees are owed wages and commission made on liquidation sales. "Employees are just concerned about what's owed to them," the employee says.
Tweeter also has yet to provide employees with information on how to access their 401K, file unemployment, or access independent health insurance, according to the source.
"We've been left in the dark with these questions," says the employee. "[Chairman George] Schultze, so far, has shown nothing to the employees."
Tweeter abruptly closed its stores and fired 600 employees without giving any advanced notice, leaving the liquidators — Hudson Capital Partners, SB Capital Group and Tiger Capital Group — and employees in limbo.
The source says Schultze Asset Management, which bought Tweeter out of bankruptcy in July 2007 for $38 million, informed some employees not to enter the stores after the lockdown or they would be arrested.
"We're in limbo," the employee says. "I would just like to get [what I'm owed] and be done."
After Tweeter's Web site was hacked Wednesday, former vice president Steve Samson was named director of business and market development of Crestron. Samson was Tweeter's VP for the past five years and was responsible for sales, installation, merchandizing, overseas manufacturing, store development and training initiatives.
Tom LeBlanc contributed to this report.
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15 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
It’s certainly a difficult situation. But put yourself in the shoes of someone in that situation. They might have the chance to make a decent amount in commission off the liquidation sales. Just the thought of possibly getting, I don’t know, another $1,000 or so must be enticing for someone out of work.
the problem is there really isnt much left in stores. we just want our pay and vacation owed to us. because there isnt much left to go to work for
Steve I fully understand and wish them all the best of luck and I have been in their shoes…I was the FS at the Vegas store when it closed last year. Luckily things are working out for me, but I still have not received several thousand dollars that is owed to me. It’s just hard for me to believe they’d get what’s due after the fact when they and others have been taken advantage of past. Bankruptcy laws and the means in which creditors get paid is so complicated that many ex-employees are put at a huge disadvantage just by the nature of the beast and in the end they really have no one left at the company to be on their side.
...And I did not mean to come off as sounding condescending or aloof about the situation, just cautionary. This surely is not a good time for many in the US and having this happen right before the holidays makes it even worse. I know there are a lot of good guys there, they’ll find a new beginning soon I’m sure.
Is it just a coincidence that the company who bought Tweeter out of bankruptcy (Schultze Asset Management) carries the same name as the former Chairman? (George Schultze) Or is there some connection here?
Roland,
Tweeter Chairman George Schultze is the managing member of Schultze Asset Management
Another Tweeter employee tells CE Pro that he has been contacted three or four times by liquidators asking if he and his staff can return to work.
His sense is that the liquidators’ plan is to reopen stores in seven to 14 days and to stay open for one or two weeks.
If the liquidators think 600 employees are not going to file for unemployment and look for new jobs, but instead just sit around for 2 weeks collecting no money waiting for a possible phone call then they must be crazy.
Why can’t they go back to work for Tweeter for two weeks, hopefully get paid what they’re owed in wages and commission, and look for a new job at the same time? Maybe by the end of that liquidation period, they already have another job lined up.
as of right now there is no guarantee the stores will ever reopen. there are too many “what if’s” and too many risks to just wait around, especially for people with families. play it safe and file for your unemployment immediately. it certainly isn’t the wrong thing to do. it has been reported that checks for everyone’s final week of earned wages has been mailed to them. beyond that however, nothing is certain.
Couldn’t agree more with the point about the families
so now I’m reading in Twice magazine that the Tweeter trustee George Miller and the liquidators may be reopening the stores for a final clearance sale. it sounds ridiculous at this point. how do you pull this off and complete it by Dec.31st considering the logistics of such a plan?
The fate of Tweeter Opco may be decided in the Delaware bankruptcy court today. From what I can decipher of court records(and I’m no lawyer)it looks like the sleazy owner George J. Schultze has a motion(s) pending to auction off the leases to the highest bidder and pay himself and his dirtbag lawyers with the proceeds. The court trustee George Miller and the liquidation firms appear to be moving to reopen the stores for a final closing sale and use the proceeds to right the ripped off customers and employees. I was skeptical of a reopening this late in the game but I’d rather see the little guy win than that Wall Street monster.
No reopening for Tweeter. Apto Solutions will be clearing out all locations and disposing of all remaining assets in some fashion from a central warehouse location.
I’d take caution about any offers to return and help with the liquidation further. Do you really want to help out someone who has dicked you over in the past? They’ve burned many employees and still owe many from the first round of layoffs and store closings last year. I’d be willing to bet that if you do go back to work temporarily, they’ll kick you out just as fast next time and really what recourse do you have besides legal action. I’d require payment in advance or tell them to take a hike
Worth the risk?