David Trone, a Democratic member of the House and a millionaire has seen his wine business thriving but yet, he has been laying off employees. He is just your run of the mill, greedy Democratic businessman. You would think someone coming from the party of caring would keep his employees while his business is growing but you would be wrong. He has been laying off employees at the same time his business has seen a 74% increase over the same time period last year.
Trone owns Total Wine & More in Maryland. Maryland was hard hit by the DTMNBN and at this time, it is unhandy as hell to be without a job while unemployment claims sometimes takes up to 6 to 8 weeks because of the sheer number of claims. An anonymous employee spoke with the Daily Beast. They were notified of the layoffs on May 15th and they will take place on June 1st. They were not offered severance packages and their benefits will only continue until the end of June.
“My thinking was when you are making that type of money, you have some corporate moral obligation to not kick people to the side,” the employee told the Daily Beast.
Later that day, a HR representative who was on the video call sent an FAQ PDF document via email, which was obtained by the Daily Beast.
“What if I do not want to apply for a new role?” one question read. “No further action is needed and your last day with Total Wine will be June 1,” the answer said.
Another question asked, “if I am laid off on June 1, what happens next?” The response said that “you will receive your remaining PTO balance as a lump sum in your last paycheck. You will also be eligible to continue your current benefits through June 30. Additionally, you will be able to file for unemployment.”
The company hosted a virtual town hall later that day to discuss the company’s layoffs and restructuring. Although the senior leaders said they would try to help, the employee said, the description of how exactly they would do so was vague, according to the Daily Beast’s report.