Facility Closing

Is a company required to disclose to an employee that it has plans to close the facility at which they were hired to work? I was recruited by a company, that after 4 months of employing me, announced plans to close the facility. In the all-employee meeting when the closure announcement was made it was stated that the decision to close this facility had been made more than 6 months earlier. It seems to me that at the very least common decency would dictate they tell me, but does the law? I’m a bit irritated as I left a position that I could still be working at.

Quick, short answer: No. Longer also true answer: Because it is a facility closure, it would be covered by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which means they either have to give you 60 days notice, or pay you for 60 days following notice, or a combination of the two.

Now my long, drawn out answer. Things like this make my blood boil. It's entirely possible that the person/people who hired you had no idea. Senior Management wasn't ready to tell anyone their plans so they set out to ruin people's lives. Hello, you can do a hiring freeze without telling everyone your secret plant closing plans. It's also entirely possible that they did know and didn't care. A third possibility is that the decision had been made to close the facility if they didn't sell it--and they were operating in the hopes that they would sell it.

I am of the opinion that part of the reason this company has to shut down a facility is that their management is so concerned about covering their own behinds that they forget about the people who work for them. If you take a look at the Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For you'll also notice that these companies are profitable. Treat your people right, they'll treat your customers right, and you'll all make money together.

So, is there anything you can do about this? Probably not. You could sue for breech of contract, but undoubtedly your offer letter specifically mentioned that you are an "at will" employee, so no contract implied. I hope you get a nice severance package, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one. Do know that they need to give you an official WARN notice 60 days before your last day at work OR pay you for at least 60 days after you quit working. If they don't do that, then you could sue. (There are exceptions to WARN, but from what you've told me, this company wouldn't qualify-except perhaps on size, which my brilliant commenter just reminded me of.)

And now, polish up your resume and hit the pavement. It stinks. It's unfair. It's even unethical (in my never to be humble opinion). But, it's life.