It’s possibly the only thing worse than spam in your e-mail inbox: a pink slip.
Radio Shack recently notified 400 of its employees via e-mail that they were being let go as part of planned job cuts.
Employees at the company’s Fort Worth, Texas headquarters received the electronic missives Tuesday morning. They read:
“The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.”
Employees had been warned in meetings leading up to the layoffs that the dismissal notices would be sent out in e-mails, according to a Radio Shack spokesperson. She declared workers had been able to inquire questions prior to the cutbacks on the company’s intranet site.
University of North Texas management professor Derrick D’Souza expressed concern that the experience, the largest e-mail dismissal he’s ever heard of, could be dehumanizing.
“If I put myself in their shoes, I’d state, ‘Didn’t they have a few minutes to notify me?,’” D’Souza declared.
The company had declared earlier in August it planned to cut between 400 and 450 jobs at its head office in order to “improve its long-term competitive position in the marketplace.”
Laid-off workers received one to three weeks pay for each year of service, up to 16 weeks for hourly employees, and 36 weeks for those with base pay of at least $90,000.
