Well-known home furnishing giant announces closure! Violent layoffs face class action lawsuit

In this year's cross-border e-commerce market, news of the collapse of various platforms and companies is common, and the popular home furnishing industry is also facing unprecedented shocks.

The American furniture giant announced its closure and violently laid off 2,700 employees!

Recently, news came out that United Furniture Industries, the parent company of Amazon's home furnishings giant Lane Home Furnishings, suddenly announced its permanent closure and all of its 2,700 employees were laid off.

It is understood that United Furniture Industries suddenly notified workers late at night that they could not continue to go to work. All employees were fired except for the company's delivery drivers.

A fired employee said he received a dismissal email from the company, which said that the company had to make the decision to close due to unforeseen business circumstances. Employees will be permanently fired by the company, and all employee benefits will be terminated immediately without providing COBRA (insurance).

United Furniture Industries ( UFI ) is a well-known furniture manufacturer in the United States . It has 18 factories, offices and distribution centers in California, Mississippi, North Carolina and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam , with more than 3,000 employees.

In June of this year, UFI fired the company 's CEO, CFO and executive vice president of sales and appointed Todd Evans, former president of Standard Furniture, as the company's CEO.

In July, UFI laid off 300 employees, reducing the company's workforce to 2,700 , while also adjusting operations and closing several facilities . UFI closed a metal stamping plant in High Point, North Carolina , converted a manufacturing plant in Mississippi into a warehousing facility , and moved North Carolina operations to distribution centers on the East Coast .

New CEO Todd Evans said that due to the market environment, the demand for furniture products is declining sharply, the company's order growth is very slow, but the current inventory is very high. In order to ensure the normal operation and long-term development of the company, the company has to adjust the scale of personnel and related businesses.

As a result, despite UFI's multiple efforts, it still faces the end of closure.

However, after closing down, UFI's direct dismissal of all employees was illegal. Some lawyers said that UFI's act of notifying employees of their dismissal by email and directly canceling the workers' health insurance and COBRA insurance violated the federal law "Worker Adjustment and Retention Notification Act ( WARN)" . The act clearly requires companies with 100 or more employees to notify all employees 60 days in advance before closing down or closing down . So that the company's employees can have transition time to cope with unemployment, find other jobs or participate in skills training.

Currently, the American law firm Langston & Lott has accepted the commission of UFI's fired employees and filed a class action lawsuit against UFI .

Lawyers at Langston & Lott believe that " Under the Worker Adjustment and Retention Notification ( WARN) Act, United Furniture employees are entitled to 60 days' notice or 60 days' severance pay , but the company did not provide either. We ask the relevant authorities to fully investigate UFI 's illegal behavior and strive for as much compensation as possible for the dismissed employees ."

In addition to dealing with a class action lawsuit from its employees, UFI also owes nearly $100 million to suppliers , including manufacturers in China, Malaysia and Vietnam . It is understood that some of these manufacturers have not received payment from UFI for three months or more .

The market is cold and many American home furnishing giants are facing bankruptcy

Since the beginning of this year, the once hot home furnishing sector has suddenly cooled down rapidly, and many American home furnishing companies are facing the dilemma of bankruptcy and closure.

In July this year , Altmeyer Home Stores, an American home furnishings retailer with 81 years of operating history, filed for bankruptcy and liquidation.

It is understood that Altmeyer Home Stores sells bedding, bathroom furniture, kitchen furniture and other household items online and offline , with 11 offline stores . After filing for bankruptcy, both online and offline stores are facing closure.

Altmeyer 's president said in the bankruptcy statement that the home furnishing market has long been facing fierce market competition, and continued procurement difficulties and inflation are the main reasons for the company's bankruptcy . Under the high pressure of the market, the order volume continued to decrease, and the company failed to restore the profitability of its business , so it had to choose to file for bankruptcy .

Bed Bath & Beyond, a well-known American home furnishings company , is facing bankruptcy and is seeking a loan of US$375 million .

Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in New Jersey. The company 's stores include World Market, Cost Plus World Market and Buybuy Baby, and it is one of the most popular large-scale home furnishings retailers in the United States.

It is understood that in August this year, 3B Home Furnishing had found a lender to provide a loan to increase its cash flow in an attempt to stabilize its financial situation .

In the past six months, sales of 3B home furnishings have fallen sharply. The main reason is that the intensified inflation has caused consumers to reduce spending on household items. At the same time, affected by the supply chain, some products have continued to be out of stock, and some suppliers have also delayed payments or reduced shipments, which has had an adverse impact on the company's operations.

3B Home's sales in the most recent quarter fell 26% compared with the same period last year , the report said . The company's stock price has fallen 43% this year and is down about 90% from its all-time high.

On August 31, the company announced that it would close 150 stores and cut 20% of its employees.

On September 2 , 3B Home 's Chief Financial Officer ( CFO) Anar fell to his death in New York .

It is understood that Arnar previously served as CFO of Avon and worked at Procter & Gamble for 20 years . He joined 3B Home in 2020 .

Some analysts predict that 3B Home may go bankrupt in the next few months .

On September 3 this year, Tru-Wood Cabinet Company, a well- known American cabinet manufacturer, announced that it would no longer accept orders for cabinet products , cease all operations, and lay off all employees.

It is understood that the company has a history of more than 50 years of operation and is a member of the American Cabinet Manufacturers Association. The main reason for the company's closure is that it was affected by the market environment and could not obtain new funds or other business opportunities .

Prior to 2019, the company had achieved record growth and expanded its factory to the Midwest of the United States . In the 2022 FDMC 300 list, the company ranked 164th with estimated sales of $40 million . However, due to the economic turmoil, the order volume continued to decline, and the company could not continue to operate and had to file for bankruptcy.

Since 2022, affected by the international situation, the raw materials of home furnishing products have continued to rise, and logistics costs have also increased. Many former leading home furnishing giants have gone out of business, bankrupt, and closed down ... Countless companies in many sub-sectors of the home furnishing market have been implicated . How to find a new way out in a complex market environment has become an important issue that many home furnishing companies and sellers have to face.

Home giant

Layoffs