This is terrible news for many blue-collar families in Mississippi and North Carolina. Last night, United Furniture, makers of Lane brand, fired all of their manufacturing employees and transportation workers effective immediately.
Fortunately, other manufacturers are quickly messaging the displaced workers with job offers {link}, but the overall message from the collapsed company is alarming.
Read the email letter from today that accompanied the late-night notification:
(Via Furniture Today) – “At the instruction of the Board of Directors of United Furniture Industries, Inc., and all subsidiaries (the “Company”), we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances the Company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately, on November 21, 2022, with the exception of over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery. Your layoff from the Company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.
Over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery will be paid for the balance of the week. Whether or not you have completed your delivery, please immediately return equipment, inventory, and delivery documents for those deliveries that have been completed to one of the following locations: Winston-Salem, N.C., Verona, Miss., or Victorville, Calif. location. To be clear, do not complete any additional deliveries.
We regret that this difficult and unexpected situation has made this necessary. Additional information will be provided shortly.
Thank you for your service and dedication.
UFI/Lane Corporate Communications” (link)
A few quick points.
First, everyone who is not pretending is well aware the U.S. durable good economy is in a severe state of contraction. This manufacturing announcement is deeply troubling and sad, but unfortunately not unexpected – all things considered.
Second, while understanding that an unexpected loss in operational funding is usually what leads to these “immediate” types of total operational collapse, most often the result of a lender backing away from a desperately needed continuation loan, the callousness of the job loss communication reflects disconnected corporate management.
Third, while the economic framework would preclude it happening on his watch, United Furniture Industries is damn lucky President Donald Trump is not in office right now or there would likely be an eviscerating response to this announcement.
I have never met President Trump, but I have watched closely enough to accept that we are tuned to the same business frequency. This is not the way an American company, or any company for that matter, should conduct itself during crisis.
My prayers are for those families who woke up this morning with the financial rug pulled out from under them.
.
Father of mercy and comfort wrap Your loving arms around the families who received notifications of job losses today. Trepidation and financial fear can lead to horrible family stress. Lord God and provider of all security, within Your Word You have said for us to cry out in Your name, and we can receive.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future;” (Jeremiah 29:11)
And so, I am asking for Your peace and reassurance to lay upon the troubled families and workers. I pray today knowing there but for Your grace we too may find ourselves.
Father, of love and support send Your spirit of strength into the hearts of those who received this employment news. Guide them closer to You and toward financial security in every tomorrow. In Jesus’ powerful name, I believe and pray.
Amen
No COBRA?? I didn’t think that was a company’s decision!
Who’s on the board. I’m going to find out. They must be wealthy sociopaths.
Board members … lots of women at the top …
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/united-industries/people
I, for one, am sick of all these “women at the top” running police departments, fire departments, as mayors. WHERE ARE THE MEN?
Not wanted these days
Playing video games
Playing womens sports.
doing exactly what mazie hirno told them to do….”now sit down and just shut up”.
looks like it’s not that company but hirono still said what she said.
The women at the top displaced them. they can’t have a voice in the brave new world. Unless they are demorat and then they’ll copulate with each other with impunity, drink, do drugs, and fire the workers.
I’m not negative. We had a lesbian as CEO of where I work and everything turned into poop.
Some women are good leaders-see Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth both RIP, some women are sociopaths or at least on the APD (antisocial personality disorder) spectrum and all they want is money and power. See lori leftfoot or sinisterfoot or whatever it’s name is
And those personality disorders do NOT respond to treatment. Not usually.
Lori Beetlejuice.
Note that many of the successful MAGA change-makers are women. Not sure why…I think that ball and chain called the “male ego” makes men feel insecure in certain situations, so the fear of failure holds them back…
It’s no accident that so many recent MAGA candidates are ex-military. No male ego to feed, just fighting for a team.
I think that’s a different company. That one is “United Industries”. We need “United Furniture Industries”.
Correct. here is United Furniture Industries – Tupelo, Miss.
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/united-furniture-industries
Mike Watson- CEO.
Douglas Hanby – COO
this link shows directors
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ms/689204
Yes! That’s the right one. Thank you.
I wonder what this means, upper right hand corner:
Latest Events2022-08-05 – 2022-09-05
Removal of officer DOUGLAS A HANBY, agent
2022-09-05 – 2022-10-06
Addition of officer C. T. CORPORATION SYSTEM, agent
2022-10-06 – 2022-11-06
Removal of officer J ANDREW PAYNE, agent
Did Hanby and Payne parachute out with severance packages just before the big termination event? Hanby has a very nice home, Zillow says it’s worth over $700k. Meanwhile some workers will be wondering whether or not they can afford to have a big Thanksgiving dinner.
Surprised the observation about “lots of women at the top” got posted.
Whenever I submit a comment to a CTH article observing something like that, it is screened out.
Maybe it depends on the moderator de jeur..
Maybe some provocative comments are posted to draw responses revealing disposition per IP address of responders, to add to profiles held by Big Brother.
??
Either Big Brother, or the Artificial Intelligence aparatus – that collects everything including people’s opinions. Elon Musk talks about this on his Joe Rogan interview.
🐷 🐮 💩
I looked up the people listed on LinkedIn and it looks like a different industry than United Furniture.
It says “United Industries produces laser welded stainless steel tubing for a variety of demanding applications and markets including automotive, food processing, sanitary, ornamentals and pharmaceuticals. We also offer a range of custom tube processing services such as laser cutting, tube flaring/flanging, perforating and welding.”
Here is the correct one:
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/united-furniture-industries
Oops. Already posted. Sorry!
Wrong company. No women at the top of United Furniture. They changed top mgmt. (men) in June.
It sounds like they are going out of business. If there is no money left then how can they pay for COBRA?
It was my understanding that the worker is responsible for the insurance premiums, not the company
Under Cobra
That is correct. I did COBRA for a while one time. I had to pay the full premium and did not get a subsidy from my employer as I would if I had remained employed there. But it was still a heck of a lot better than buying insurance on my own.
Now I would just go without, and have done it.
That is correct. I am guessing that the company must have the policy in place to facilitate the coverage for those who are no longer employed and it seems the company has halted all transactions.
You are correct
This is true, but there has to be an ongoing plan to continue.
i thought that was a portion.
The company can charge 102% of their cost.
For most ex employees, the cost is prohibitive and they are better off going on the open market
For many, this is the first clue they have ever had as to how much their employer has subsidized their premiums (usually the case anyway).
Yes. People have no idea how much their employer pays to get them medical insurance.
Or that their employer pays half their Social Security and Medicare premiums.
Usually COBRA extends the current benefits package with the same insurance provider you have been using. Sounds like the company severed all ties with the insurance provider also.
That was my first thought as well
If they aren’t able to provide COBRA, then there must be a catastrophic funding failure occurring (possibly a credit line was unexpectedly closed or negotiations with a bank collapsed). My guess would be that the company shortly files for bankruptcy protection soon.
I think we’ll be seeing more of this shortly. There aren’t going to be a lot of companies that will be able to survive the rise in interest rates.
A lawsuit already alleging UFI violated the law. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/former-employee-sues-united-furniture-industries-over-mass-firing
“Under the WARN Act, the employees of United Furniture were entitled to either a 60-day notice or 60 days of severance pay — neither of those were provided,” Jack Simpson, attorney for Langston & Lott, told FreightWaves. “If appointed class counsel, we look forward to vigorously investigating the actions of United Furniture and seeking as much compensation the terminated employees are legally entitled to.”
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/former-employee-sues-united-furniture-industries-over-mass-firing
Laws? They’re just following the examples all around them. Wonder about their campaign contributions. And who are their spouses, siblings, etc.
Former HR guy here who had to close a major plant.
How a company chooses to close a plant is a direct reflection on their character. There are “right/humane ways” to do this and barbaric ways. This company has done everything wrong in the process.
This lawsuit will ultimately go nowhere and take years getting there. These employees should not count on anything coming from it.
Now that the election season is over, so will be the pretending. Look for a LOT more of this, but hopefully done more professionally. Just wrong and disgusting.
What do you know about the WARN Act? I didn’t know about it but this is what I have found (sorry for bad formatting):
====
Philip Hearn, president of Hearn Law Firm with offices throughout Mississippi, said the WARN Act requires companies to give employees 60-days notice ahead of a plant closing or going out of business. State commerce departments in North Carolina, Mississippi and California have received no WARN filings from the company, according to Furniture Today’s reporting.
“They have (United) done nothing they were supposed to do,” he said. “It’s pretty open and shut. Companies owe their employees notice of closing. If not, the companies owe employees 60 days of wages, and the companies also have to pay attorney fees.”
The WARN Act was passed by Congress in 1988 and took effect in 1989. The act is designed to give workers time to seek other employment or retraining opportunities before their current job ends. According to the U.S. Department of Labor website, WARN doesn’t give the department a role in enforcing the act. Private lawsuits filed in federal courts enforce WARN.
According to the federal government, there are four initiatives that require a company to make a WARN filing:
How soon until the laid-off leftists fire a WARNing over Musk’s bows regarding the Twitter layoffs?
They have no case. He paid them 3 months severance plus.
And you can bet that they each signed a Separation Agreement to get it, in which they waived their right to sue the company under a list of laws that is about a page and a half long.
don’t doubt me…as Rush would say
Yes, that’s what you are supposed to do.
It’s to enable local government, state resources, etc to get involved to help with job placement, retraining, etc. Also, there are additional benefits potentially available for employees if jobs were lost overseas. But it’s a complicated government process and the company typically initiates it.
Also, suppose a factory was the major customer of the city utilities (gas, water, etc). Getting zero notice on that is a killer to local government.
The employees may wind up being one of many creditors. In reality, they are SOL and need to get looking.
I have NO sympathies for local gov’ts. Entitled dumbasses that will take every penny of your money to fund their lavish early retirement pensions and benefits.
edit out, changed my mind 😉
So true BareKnuckles
When there is no money lawsuits do not good at all and I do hope these employees understand this.
We are entering hard times and so many are going to learn the hard way that they file lawsuits until the sun doesn’t shine and they might even win but when the money is not there it does no good.
Especially if it is a right to work state and all these employees are “at will” employees. Totally legal and no recourse under the latter classification.
Beautiful prayer, Sundance and Amen.🙏🏼🙏🏼
when asked about these ex-employees’ Thanksgiving meal, Chairman said “Let them eat cake!”/s
Ice cream
“If They Lose, You Will Eat Bugs – Dutch Farmer Spokesperson Explains How EU Climate Change Goals Will Reduce Farm Production.” TheConservativeTreehouse, 7/10/2022.
An article worth rereading, and bookmarking.
“The global food manipulators within the World Economic Forum have established the farming policy that aligns with their climate change goals.”
Amen Sundance. What a load of turkey dung for these families. God is faithful & will provide for those who seek His guidance.
So true Jeff, this was an ugly thing to do to these families.
I hope these CEOs burn in h*ll.
Amen
Pray for the immediately effected.
Then think about the ripple effect.
Praying
Happy Thanksgiving, care of Joe Biden.
The Christmas “gifts” from the Uniparty are going to be dreadful.
Those ingrates will get what’s coming to them one of these days.
While they shut down the entire Nantucket Island.
Sick
Thank you, Sundance, for your prayer. This old man joins his prayer to yours as well.
Amen!
Sundance, I agree fully with your prayer for all these people and their families.
Amen
A COBRA brochure says this:
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires most group health plans to provide a temporary continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated
I didn’t know it wasn’t required for all insurance plans. Wow.
At least Republicans got rid of the Obamacare penalty so if some of the people have to go without insurance for a while they won’t be fined. Small consolation though.
COBRA premiums are unaffordable, and coverage inadequate, if my experience in 1991 is still relevant.
Bottom line: Corporations hold all the cards, employees none.
My COBRA insurance, even paying the full premium with no employer help, was waaaaaay cheaper than anything on the Obamacare exchange. And I was livid when I saw the prices. I’m a healthy person with no chronic or pre-existing problems. I see a doctor once per year usually. I couldn’t believe how much the exchange offerings were. I wanted to go without insurance but I would have been penalized at that time. Now I could go without and not be penalized, thanks to the GOP. Yet another reasons why Dems are worse than Republicans, even RINOs. Dems would never have gotten rid of that penalty.
Been here before, basically it boils down to the company is no longer a customer of said insurance company so no cobra is offered because if employees remained cobra must be offered. Lane Company is essentially out of business and essentially bankrupt, I expect them to file against all their outstanding debt to creditors.
My situation was, my Buick dealership was bought out by the Pontiac dealership because they wanted our new building and GM wanted consolidation of lines, most GM dealerships consolidated to Pontiac, Buick and GMC with Chevrolet and Cadillac divisons combining as well.
Then Pontiac went the way of Oldsmobile a decade later.
I found better/cheaper insurance on the individual market and also found that the dealership did not “subsidize” my insurance at ALL, I remember when they did and when they stopped because the premium mysteriously doubled exactly although the company denied they quit paying saying only the insurance company doubled the rates due to several employees having major medical problems at the time. Which turned out was a load of BS as I suspected.
With obozocare they stopped offering my individual policy and had nothing to offer me, checking obozocare pricing, they essentially offered me the same policy at 4 times the price and 6 times the out of pocket expense and pay for absolutely nothing until I have spent 15,000 dollars along with the 12,000 in premiums per year.
Needless to say, I have gone without since, I will qualify for medicare soon enough.
I’d like to believe this is company specific but there are many marginal companies, heavily indebted that may not be able to rollover the debt or fail debt covenants.
Via text message?! No severance, no Cobra, no advance notice.
No class.
Many prayers for those hardworking fired employees 🙏
These CEOs need to be named and shamed.
Election Fraud has disastrous consequences
You’ll own nothing and they’ll be happy. At least for a while.
Another $4.7 billion today for the Uke – weapons makers – dem politician merry-go-round. Not a penny for these families or the many, many to join them before the end of this year.
But…but…but Putin is EVIIIIIL, and Uke is a democracy that we, and these families, need to sacrifice for, right?
Perfect poster boys for WEF decadence.
I LOATHE SEAN PENN!
Who doesn’t?!
Thanks Joe……. You like all Democrats are wizards at economics ……… you make whole economies disappear.
This is horrifying! No notice? Oh, those poor people…PRAYING for them and their families.
I worry about suicides. If someone is juggling other problems, sudden job loss with no severance and no COBRA could be fatal.
But the Board of Directors will have a lovely Thanksgiving, I’m sure.
I’m in a town with one of these locations and similar ones.
These are literally the people we hear about when you hear the term “paycheck to paycheck”
If there is a glitch in the payroll processing and direct deposit is delayed by just a day….it’s a catastrophe
Not only suicides , but I would think that the Board of Directors ought to be looking at getting some personal security if they do not already have it.
Some do not turn inward when under pressure, instead they go in search of those who did them wrong.
No advocating anything, just mentioning that there are other ways people deal with troubles that affect their families in a detrimental way.
I’d bet folks who read here, know what I am saying without my being more specific.
As an aside, I am also skeptical that all of those folks who are off on their delivery routes are going to be in any big hurry to return their company property as they were requested, simply out of spite.
Again, not advocating anything, but unhappy/angry folks sometimes do things they normally would not under duress.
I think it is kind of human nature to take offense when someone does something that threatens oneself, or family. Being fired, laid off, etc., is just a couple of those things that can drive folks from using logic & instead let emotions drive their thinking.
Regardless of how “logic” plays in to it, the “emotional side” off times will take over with logic going “out the window”& that is what I am mentionging is a very good possibility in this situation.
Sundances prayer is a good one & deserves repeating when folks have the time to do so in praying for these folks. I hope someone who knows any of those folks in this situation learns of it & share it with them.
GOD Bless…
———–
Edit due to misspellings I missed before submitting the comment.
I am pretty tired of logic myself….
Amen
Wonder if this is tied to FTX in any way?
They effectively shut down. All business has ceased, except for some deliveries?
This stinks. The executives have much to answer for in the not too distant future.
There are receivables and aged receivables that will still be paid to the corporation.
But how many bills do they owe? Their receivables likely won’t cover their liabilities.
Looks like the executives have already been “removed”. There is lots of additional information on line. Furniture Retailers are unhappy because Lane was a good line for some of them.
NC is in full bore urbanization. The areas in the urban corridor (Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham,RTP, Charlotte) have what looks like unlimited capital pouring in for public private partnerships, government expansion and major multinational corporate expansions including Big Pharma, Banking, and Big Tech. China has a very large influence in all, from the shadows.
Population is growing rapidly, primarily form northeast and California, along with significant foreign nationals (Asians, Chinese, Middle East, India, South American…). Salarys are insanely high, luxury high density housing, and upscale “urban style” shopping centers going up everywhere. New luxury cars everywhere. It is hard to have a good dinner and wine for 2 for less than $100. Public schools are full blown woke, all while expensive private schools are growing at a rapid pace. Billions going into mass transit to bring in their slave day labor.
All the city councils and county commissions are corporatist controlled.
Outside the “semi-urban” decadence are what I call growing dump zones. Dirty industry, vast communities of illegals, lots of apartments along the planned transit routes. The rest of the state (excluding beach and mountain resorts for the overpaid and pampered professional class) are just being left to wither and die.
There is no use here for middle, class, working class or small farmers. Agenda 2030/2050.
Sounds like the description of the picture Sundance often uses and Mass Psychosis posted above.
yes, it is
You mentioned China’s role
I’ll bet a donut that United Furniture execs made a calculation that everything they manufacture can be readily obtained from China, and likely at lower prices
Follow the execs and see if they don’t re-incorporate down the line as importers / distributors
Sounds like an excellent candidate for punitive import tariffs if they go down that route.
Not like China or the EU would not, or has not imposed the like on US exports.
offshoring to China hurt all of them and I can attest to that. My husband worked as a manufacturer’s rep for Broyhill during the best of times. Way before FJB.
I met a charming couple in S. America. He was 69, had a great living as a top manufacturers rep of upscale furniture. Great guy.
In 2008, they lost half their 401K, she was laid off, he was let go because he was the oldest/highest paid, top producer. He was a wealth of knowledge, and probably a great loss to his company.
There were a lot of cloes-to-retirement folks in that mess. More to come.
Durham has no-go zones. But there are upscale areas.
Every city has no-go areas.
Yes. Durham is more “diverse”. Much is told by the transit stations. Durham’s is big, central and busy with bus lines and parking lots. Laid against agenda2050, Durham’s role will be to house the elite’s supply of less-than-desirable to their day jobs at the multinationals and their towns and neighborhoods, and then back to Durham at night.
Durham has a!ways had no go zones
I live in the urban corridor, and while we are seeing rapid growth, in my area, things are not nearly as bad as you describe. Rent has gone up and more apartments are being built, but my county managed to stay conservative.
It appears not to be “as bad” as I describe because hundreds of billions are being poured into the areas.
However it is well underway and no longer reversible unless the financial/capital funding model collapses. The Town of Cary as a small example spends over $5m/year on public buses that quite literally have been running all over town empty for over 6 years.
I spent 10+ years fighting Agenda21 in city halls in Durham, Wake and Orange counties. The die was cast back then. Look into the extent of Triangle J Regional governance council. Triangle J aligns local planning and legislation with state funding, federal funding and the multinational expansion. Another initiive that tells alot is called the “Extended Triangle” out to Chatham and Lee counties.
Coastal NC is still nice.
Politicians are so buyable, so unworthy.
I think Colorado looks very similar to the NC you described.
Yes. Same agenda, same model – especially Colorado Springs.
You will soon be like VA. Native Carolinians with no say in your own government.
Similar. Here though, the corporatism here is inverted. The multinational corporations and banks drive Agend2050, the governments and politicians do as they are told.
So many of the woke/crazy/scary stories I have read in the past few years have come from some entity based in North Carolina, such that on more than one occasion I have thought to myself, WHAT is going on there???
As a 70 year born and bred Carolinian, the picture painted is quite bleak and does not conform to reality. In NC we have pretty much the same issues every other Southern state has, but the world isn’t coming to an end. What we have in some area’s is growth that is good for the economy. Last I heard everyone would like a higher salary and a nice car.
And outside the major urban area’s is not a “dump zone”. That’s a mischaracterization. What “dirty” industry? You’re complaining about apartments? Why? The vast majority of North Carolinian’s are middle class and working class. As is true everywhere, direct farming is very minor because farming requires vastly less labor then it did years ago.
You have to watch the patterns. I have for quite some time. Look at city zoning and planning over 10 years. Map the luxury condos and apartments against the meager apartments going along the transit corridors. Look at the types of multinationals coming in and where capital funds are going.
All that went wrong in California and Atlanta are being “improved” upon in NC. The Carolina urban corridor is quite real. There is wealth and growth but it is flowing it, not grown not local.
I have talked to many politicians and planners. None will deny the trajectory. Some think they can beat the globalists. THey are foolsh
I was thinking of heading to NC since some positive changes were made during the recent elections. I was looking at towns about an hour to a 90 minute drive from OBX (I like to go to the beach on day trips during the summer). This information will give me pause.
There is no where to escape. We have to stand and fight. NC is as good as any a place. I moved out to the country and our county is taking a stand.
Amen to your prayer!
Terrible news! This is not the first time a trucking company has done that to over-the-road truck drivers, tho.
I remember one Winter a Company (can’t remember the name now, but it was during Obama’s years) left all of their drivers on the road without money for fuel. We all tried to help as many as we could as we met them on the Truck Stops.
Arrow Trucking out of Tulsa Oklahoma. Their CEO Doug Pielsticker was cooking the books and went to prison for it. Bad deal for a lot of families.
When Braniff Airlines declared bankruptcy, they were selling tickets up to the moment of the announcement, and stranded their Pacific flights cres without an money or way to get home.
I was working for Pan Am at the time, and we gave all of them a free ride home.
Despicable.
I will immediately offer the opinion that this “email” may in fact be fake.
For example, a company cannot “simply say” … “without benefit of COBRA.” Therefore, no company would actually say that.
Likewise, it is quite unreasonable that a company’s management would instantaneously decide to “fire everybody.”
It’s not fake. One lawsuit has already been filed.
I currently work for a company that has NO idea what their legal obligations are in a bunch of areas.
They are out there.
You would think a company of this size would have had a Legal Department or retained outside counsel.
Maybe they were too broke for that.
Article in local newspaper:
Former employees file federal lawsuit against United Furniture | Business | djournal.com
Nope! You are incorrect in this case.
My neighbor worked at the Winston-Salem, NC location(21 years) and that is the e-mail message they received at……wait for it…….11:49pm on the 21st. Others were notified by text messages saying the same thing at 12:42am the next morning. I have seen both and they were reported on all local news stations here on Tuesday.
272 employee’s were laid earlier this summer and everyone knew they were in trouble and likely to be laid off sometime this year, but certainly not in this abrupt manner with no warning or severance pay.
The other large furniture manufacturer around here was Broyhill and they have been laying off also.
Companies will do anything. I was laid off after 30 years. The owner approached me on a Monday with the news and when I asked when it started they said last Friday. Luckily I was planning and ready to retire.
I’m in IT. IT has been super volatile since 2000. I have been laid off twice. It’s far more tolerable if you have some advanced warning. I can’t imagine trying to deal with it on short or no notice. 🙁
The day before Thanksgiving! Some are probably already on the road to be with family.
I was laid off two weeks after I turned 60. 30 yrs IT experience. I applied for over 250 jobs, I only got 3 phone interviews. It got especially tough after the Repugs passed the bill that gave out 320K greencards to all the visa holders.
Then the vax mandate hit and since I refused to take the clot shot any discussions with recruiters about any jobs were over once they asked if I was vax’d. Every company required the shot. I gave up after that.
I have only worked 7 months in the last 4 years. Luckily I am self-sufficient and have a farm that’s paid for.
Yes, real tough when up in age
That is a disaster! WTH? If Trump becomes President again I’m going to ask that everyone contact him to get him to protect U.S. jobs. I’m sick of offshoring.
The greedy tech companies are cutting your years of experience and knowledge out from under you, and the substandard imports don’t care that you lost your ability to support your family.
I was in IT for 37 years and always knew that if my contract expired and there wasn’t another one starting immediately, I would be let go in a heart beat. I made it to retirement in early 2020. Saving and sacrificing to be in that position is something I do not regret at all.
Is this Lane Recliners? Just wondering whether this means the closure of all the retail stores, which seems logical.
That would be very wide set of ripples.
Is this Lane Hope Chests? Remember those from long ago. My mom had one. I still have a miniature hand-held Lane Hope Chest that all girls received upon high school graduation from Lane (obviously, decades ago).
I have one of those mini chests that was a hand-me-down probably several times over. 🙂 My father (RIP) taught me how to refinish it.
Nice. I’ve always put keepsakes in it.
I bought my wife one back in the 70’s. All young wives back then wanted one.
Yes. mine has a broken hinge but the rest looks great. The finish held up great.
This company is not the same. I think they use the name but not same company.
I think it is the same:
https://www.lanefurniture.com/page/our-company-history
I’m pretty sure it’s the same company. Graduates received a certificate which was redeemed at a store that sold the lane Hope Chest. My mom had a Lane Hope Chest that she probably got when she was getting married to my dad after WW II. It was the Lane Co. that gave the minatures away to female high school grads as a promotion.
I have a miniature one too. I didn’t know Lane hope chests were still in business. Some of the Amish furniture makers make hope and blanket chests still.
I don’t think so since this company incorporated in 1993
My mom’s Lane Hope chest was the real deal and bought in the 40s. It had Lane on the chest. We had it until about 10 years ago.
I still have my miniature chest from 1972. They gave them to different schools each year so only one of my 5 sisters also got one. I still use it as a jewelry box.
Companies often merge or are bought out over the decades so the fucntional company might be different and I trust that all of the fine folks who built full size cedar chests like I have at my place, from WW2 era, are dead.
It’s still a ‘Lane’, one of the premiere brands of that time and a huge investment for a 21 yo girl working her first big job building airplanes. The cedar still has that wonderful smell and the workmanship is timeless.
I also had one of those from around that same time; also got it at school. Times sure have changed.
I just checked inside my cedar chest and the name for the was Lane Standard, Altavista, VA. I have the paperwork
Lulu upthread was of the opinion it is the old ‘hope chest’ maker.
Looks like it. Here is the link
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ms/689204
Yes. I just checked and the lanefurniture.com website is still up with no hint that they are in trouble. The company history page notes that they are owned by United Furniture.
Sounds like bankruptcy. Nothing is guaranteed and employees become creditors. The law puts them near the top of the list, but a judge will decide what they get.
No guarantee that they will not get the short end of any deal.
Kinda like how that restructuring of General Motors went a few years back. The ones at the top of the list got bypassed in favor of the politically connected.
Thank you for such a beautiful prayer. These families certainly need prayer. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning.
Lord, pleased stop this administration from causing more harm to working families.
Best not to forget the dominant globalist narrative: these greedy, heartless capitalists don’t care about anything but money, so you’re better off if we provide for you. It’s the communist two-step. Look for a Soros-related rat at the top and you’ll probably find one.
I thought COBRA was mandatory by law. When did that change?
I’m at a crossroad. Unsure how to react. Terrible to have this ‘how do you do” just before the holidays and apparently without any warning whatsoever. Also completely predictable and foresee this repeat, over and over, as the Xmas shopping drops off a cliff.
Our current economic crisis and impending crushing collapse is the direct result of the policies the voters of this country just failed to remove [wasn’t an affirmation, but gaining a slight majority in HoR is no rebuke either]. So this is, really, what people voted for whether they understood it or not.
Watched a video earlier today of a mother of several small kids, all by different and absent sperm donors, complaining how crappy her life was and how she “didn’t deserve it”. Wasn’t raped; not a widow. It was a choice to enjoy the moment coupled with willful denial of the long term consequences of making that choice, over and over again. Woman didn’t even consider her own decisions were to blame. Didn’t feel sorry for her, either.
So yes, there are some but not enough people awake to the reality around them. The rest, and I’m afraid the majority, are happy with self entertaining with their phones and chose to swallow the tick-cock garbage as gospel truth completely uninterested in actual reality. That won’t change until their phones no longer work. So as a successful adult that did sacrifice the ‘fun days’ to achieve my station in life, I’m seriously struggling with extending compassion to that majority that just won’t.
I’m a single mother of 1 now adult, college educated without student loans, working and self supporting married daughter. Long story why I was a single mom and I would have loved to have had more but I knew I couldn’t afford them. Shoot, in the beginning there were days when I could barely afford her! I’m pro-life but also pro keep your legs together and use multiple methods of birth control! You do have the responsibility of raising and providing for your children.
It is truly horrible but not at all surprising. Layoffs, firing, and dropping of temp workers always happen during the holidays. Usually about a month out from Christmas. And the communication is rather less terse than they usually are.
I pray all the displaced workers find employment immediately.
This occurred twice to my husband during the eighties. We dreaded the holidays…the company Christmas party was when bonus checks were handed out to some, while others got pink slips.
It’s happened every single year for the five years I’ve been married. My husband rides the temp carousel and quite frankly temp work is very little better than outright slavery. He told me a couple weeks ago that the company is doing bonuses this holiday season and I told him to start looking for another job.
Being self-employed sucks in a great many ways, but being blind-sided by the boss is not one of them. I saw a pickup pulled up to a roll-off dumpster as I was driving home tonight, a scrap picker going through the dumpster in the dark. That person is self-employed, maybe barely gets by but at least has the semblance of self-sufficiency.
No matter what the endeavor, start some sort of a business. Everybody has some skill, insight, talent or other marketable quality.
Yup, TreeClimber. In 1981, our plant was on the annually scheduled a plant shutdown from just before Christmas through the New Year. We all received a letter in the mail that said, as best as I can recall,
“The plant has been sold. Your employment has been terminated. You may apply to the new company for work, but we don’t know if they will be hiring or using their existing employees.
You will be paid through December 31st. You are eligible for unemployment. Use December 31st as your last day of employment and not the date that you received this letter.
If you have accrued vacation time during the past year, you will receive one final check for the accrued vacation owed. Those receiving vacation pay may still use December 31st as the last day of employment, but the amount received may affect your unemployment benefit amount.”
That was pretty much it.
Not so much as a “We wish you well in your search for employment” or even a “Happy eff’n Holidays.”
“This is not the way an American company, or any company for that matter, should conduct itself during crisis.” Barbra Streisand, it’s standard fare for the commercial aviation industry, I speak from experience(s).
Yep … Pan Am was selling tickets up until the announcement of bankruptcy. Never thought I would see the day.
https://lanefurniture.com/page/wearehiring
— United Furniture Industries is damn lucky President Donald Trump is not in office right now or there would likely be an eviscerating response to this announcement.
Perhaps we may still. President Trump doesn’t speak for just himself but for us. All of us. This is our country and our fellow man being intentionally dismantled piece by piece. We stand up for one another. We stand together.
May God Bless the thousands of families who are facing very tough times.
Wonder if they hsd a big investment in bitcoin….
Come spring there will likely be a big demand for new furniture.
Given that with blackouts, lots of people will have to burn their present furniture to keep from freezing to death this winter and will need new furniture come spring..
This recession is soon to be a depression. They can lie to us all they want, but all markers/models show it to be coming 2023 and into 2024. My heart breaks for these people. Why do they always do this at the holidays? So cruel.
Not to minimizing the layoffs or the people who work for them, but that’s some horribly ugly furniture! No wonder they couldn’t keep it running.
If Trump was President this never would have happened. All the result of Bidenomics. Not exactly a mystery the writing has been on the wall for some time now for anyone paying attention.
The self appointed Elites that run this and other countries only care about themselves and their money. The big banks are cold blooded when when it comes to the wellbeing of the little people/labor, but when they get in trouble they want billon $$$ bailouts. Stolen elections have disastrous consequences.
MAGA!!!
makes no sense, nothing happens that unexpectedly..what is really going on?
So sad. Bad enough the economy is horrible, now these poor people lost their job just before the holidays.
I went to Lowes Lumber today. They had a refrigerator at the entrance on sale with $1200 off. It was still $3500. It wasn’t that long ago that I new car was that much. There is going to be a bunch more business closures coming. It’s the new world order.
Am I the only one who doesn’t want a see through door and wifi in their refrigerator?
No
I know I guy who couldn’t get his new oven to work. The service guy had to upload three software upgrades into it
its insane
A simple box. Keep the milk cold and the ice cream frozen. don’t need the other junk
I was just at Lowes and was reminded why I’m doing little construction lately. Bought two 1 x 4 x 8′ trim boards and an 8′ 2 x 4. It came to $47. Before the reset that would have been $12.
Trim boards were from Thailand. 2×4 was from Canada. This is NC. Timberwood and mills everywhere.
I’ve been trying to get cinder blocks there for six weeks. Cinder blocks!!
A load finally came in this week
The last full size refer I bought for a rental a decade ago cost 449 bucks plus tax from HD and they delivered it for free.
After seeing where prices were headed I set up my new place to run off of two bar refers that combined are less then 400 bucks. One has a small freezer. Starve the beast. I saw the writing on the wall before closing my business.
There was no semblance of reasonable profit anymore, it was whatever one could beg borrow, steal or cheat. That’s what America has become, or California anyway.
I’ve been there.
Many of us have been there.
And it really sucks.
If you haven’t been there, you have yet another reason to give thanks to God tomorrow.
still posting these at every gas station I go to.
FJB
I do some occasional finance, accounting contract work the past 3 years, for a company that has sales a bit over $ 60m. They are completely reliant on an asset based revolving loan secured by accounts receivable, inventory, machinery and property. With interest rates rising the debt is more expensive and the lender is watching like a hawk. Any financial deterioration and these asset based lenders will not hesitate to call the loan and the collateral. Game over. Many smaller companies rely on revolving debt.
Had a client who was on the path to self-sufficiency in SoCal real estate. Also decided to leverage his holdings to increase his portfolio [For those in Rio Linda, that means borrow against current properties for the down payment to buy more properties with the balances financed with add’l purchase money loans]. Works for the 20-30% of the time the market is on a rise, full employment for tenants to pay their rent, low rates/stability in the lending market. Disaster when any one of those legs falters. Was a $6-7millionaire just 2-3 years ago, all on paper. He’s toast now.
Did BK law for about 10 years. This is a typical scenario I’ve seen over and over again. I’d wager most ‘successful’ companies arising in the last 10 years used the same finance pyramid scheme and are now paying the piper.
Trying to get too rich, too quick, too easily.
Nothing worthwhile is easily obtained. Lessons from history we in this country have long forgotten.
Upvote for working the Rush Limbaugh reference into your comment. 🙂
That’s really interesting and scary
So, essentially these companies have nothing in reserve.
Given the Covid operation and wholesale government abdication of the Constitution with the support and assistance of the financial industry, I expect there’s going to be a war coming that will see real people killed and they won’t be abvle to hide in those fancy office buildings. Expect it. I’ll leave it at that..
The “war” is already in existence and it’s called genocide.
They can’t even deliver furniture that’s been paid for? This doesn’t make sense. Something else is up.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mississippi-based-furniture-company-lays-off-2700-workers-93867232
Better information than my earlier post…broader information.
If they are insolvent, which clearly they are, then the assets have to be accounted for. At first it may sound crazy not to deliver to a paying customer but in at least some cases the customer may have already paid for the furniture. Okay, that sounds like they should get it right? wrong. If they prepaid then they have now become another creditor; where they stand in the pecking order has to be determined but giving them the furniture now would be a preference and subjects them and the furniture company to sanctions.
When things fall apart it’s messy.
Let’s don’t crucify the company before all the facts are in. It’s also possible Lane Furniture was unwilling to bow completely before the ESG gods, and were themselves the victim of woke bankers or regulators.
Nothing like a long holiday weekend to grab the headlines and corporate adrenal glands in one fell swoop.
I know nothing, except that it’s best to resist the knee jerk reaction, because the real truth will likely be weeks coming out.
Surely they knew months ago and could have warned the employees.
Not if the bank decided to just jerk the rug out from under them. Did you ever hear or read about the farm crisis in the late 70’s and early 80’s? The farmers had been operating on loans for generations. Borrow in the spring to pay for fertilizer, seed, fuel, etc. Pay the loan in the fall when the crop is harvested and sold. One year most of the main banks in the Minnesota farm market just decided they didn’t want to do farm loans anymore.
Similar things happened about 20 years ago in insurance, suddenly no insurance company in Minnesota wanted to write policies for residential real estate, especially rentals. That sort of industry-wide shift torpedoes any business caught by it.
Some unfortunately don’t have that kind of patience. I agree with you.
Just before Christmas. Sad.
Oddly the UFI stock went up 2% today
Wow.
Lane made very good quality furniture. I have some.
So sad
Sorry for the workers. A prayer for them
Politically speaking the more this happens the better. People need to be furious enough the throw lofty morals out the window and rediscover actual principles.