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Over 200 Subway employees have been left without jobs and pay after 23 stores closed down in Oregon.
Staff arriving at the locations for shifts last week were greeted with a sign that informed them their workplace was temporarily closed.
According to a report from KPTV, one store had a sign that read: ‘This location is temporarily closed. Stay healthy and see you soon!’
Some workers affected by the closures said that beyond the notice posted on the storefront, they had been given little to no information about why the store had closed or when it might re-open—nor any indication as to what it meant for their future employment or pay.
Why have the Subway stores closed so unexpectedly?
The stores that closed were franchised from Subway by CapTen Enterprises and Subfecta, LLC.
Ann Bell, the owner of the stores told KPTV that she lost all the money needed to keep each location operational after a bank account containing the funds was hacked.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a government body offering insurance to depositors in American commercial and savings banks, does not offer coverage for losses due to fraud or theft. As such, unable to immediately recoup her lost funds, Bell said was left unable to pay food supplier U.S. Foods.
Without the supplies needed to keep restaurants open or the support from Subway itself as it navigates a change in ownership to Roark Capital, she had no options left but to close the stores.
“I do understand people’s frustration, I totally get that,” she told KPTV. “The timing couldn’t have been worse.”
What do the store closures mean for staff?
Without the funds necessary to cover owed wages, employees have reported that the sudden closures left them without pay.
Joanne Kennedy, store manager at the location with the ‘Stay healthy and see you soon!’ sign, spoke of the turmoil unfolding at the Subway stores.
“No warning, no heads up, no transparency, completely and totally blindsided, every one of us,” she said.
Kennedy added that although there were signs of disruption, such as food orders she placed not arriving, staff were kept in the dark on their employer’s situation.
“There was no communication, there was just ‘keep doing your job, business as usual,’ that’s what I was told, business as usual, they’re looking for a resolution for the food order,” she explained. “We were all trading food in between stores trying to keep everyone’s doors open, and then no food came.”
Crystal Eang, another store manager who also served as a District Manager, said that they were only informed last-minute that their wages would not be paid.
“Monday rolled around it was like you guys are not getting paid, we don’t have the money to pay you,” Eang said.
Bell stated she plans to pay everybody what they are owed and has been in touch with the Bureau of Labor and Industries to establish a payment plan as quickly as possible.
“I’ve cried for over a week and a half”
Despite Bell’s reassurances, Kennedy and Eang say that they have been told it could take up to 100 days to process; nor is there clarity on their future employment.
“I’ve got a car payment coming up, I’ve got insurance, I got cell phone bills,” said Kennedy, who has found another job but badly needs the wages she earned working at Subway. “I live paycheck to paycheck supporting my kids, I don’t know where I’m going to get grocery money now.”
A spokesperson for Subway responded to KPTV’s request for comment, stating: “Our priority is to ensure guests can continue enjoying freshly made, high-quality, delicious food by identifying experienced operators within our system who can quickly take ownership and re-open the restaurants.”
But many of the staff affected by the closures remain in total shock at having their long-standing jobs suddenly taken away without any communication.
“I’ve cried for over a week and a half,” Eang stated. “You put so much trust in somebody who says they’re going to take care of you and it’s going to be okay and you’re going to be fine, and it’s the trust that’s broken, and it shatters you.”
