Detailed by Orlando’s WFTV recently, the owner and manger of a restaurant called Barducci’s Italian Bistro used text messaging to fire all of his employees on the Fourth of July. Jodi Jackson, a two year veteran cook at the restaurant, spoke to the news station calling firing by text messaging “immoral” and believe the owner was exhibiting “cowardice.” The owner, Gregory Kennedy, announced the closure of the restaurant on the official restaurant Facebook page the following day and thanked the customers that supported the restaurant for the last ten years.
Specifically, the text message from Kennedy to his dozen employees stated “I unfortunately need to inform you that I have been forced to close Barducci’s immediately. Despite my efforts, there were circumstances that I was not able to address. I wish you all the best and sincerely thank you for everything you have done. Any final payroll checks will be addressed after the accounting has been finalized.”
Or course, Kennedy didn’t indicate a date when the employees would receive their final paychecks. After a reporter with WFTV attempted to contact Kennedy multiple times, he finally got back to the reporter over text message. The text message read “Unfortunately businesses are forced to close around Orlando every day, especially in the restaurant sector. I am working to resolve issues with final paychecks as soon as possible.”
Interestingly, Barducci’s also ran a Groupon promotion earlier in the year. Customers that purchased the Groupon won’t be able to utilize it at Barducci’s, but they can contact Groupon in order to get a full refund on the purchase price of the restaurant coupon.
According to a report on CNN, an Alabama restaurant also fired all employees by text messages during September 2012. However, the restaurant owner provided four weeks of severance pay to the employees in order to help them pay their bills while looking for new jobs.
