I am one of the Corporate team members that was flushed out Wednesday due to a "Maintenance Emergency" then told in a pre-recorded message Thursday morning that we were out of work, and at midnight that night, out of benefits. I came here 6 months ago to improve the quality of life for my wife and 3 children, with promises of incentive raises and bonuses, only to find out the week before the collapse all of that was a lie and hadn't occured for years. Every single vendor of ours was shut off - we had no clothes to sell and no way to market them since Easter. What a shame, because with the exception of the aforementioned C-Level execs in your article, the employees of rue21 are some of the hardest working ones I've ever met or had the privilege to work with. Good luck to all finding your next adventure, with the obvious omission of Mr. Burris.
Benefits are usually paid for in advance. So your benefits should be good until may 31. However, if they are not you may be due a refund. Perhaps consult with HR or former HR if they were also fired.
This is bonkers, I hardly know where to start! I still can’t get past the lovely Josh referring to himself in the third person. 😳 I hope employees come out of this with their sanity and some cash in their pockets (in other words, that Rue21 gets sued). Absolutely brutal.
Though it is a long time since I read Moby Dick I distinctly remember Melville had a character refer to himself in the 3rd person to indicate he was insane
Josh is a nut job! I work at GNC Corporate and he would have put us back into bankruptcy too if he had the chance. The majority of his time was spent at dinner with Charlie Batch. Each dinner was expensed back to the company and was no less than $2k each time. It was insane. I feel awful for the rue21 employees, but I am extremely glad that GNC got rid of him before he could take us under.
Hello! I’m a Rue21 employee, me and my crew have been struggling for the past week with this whole situation, and this was an a very eye opening read, as well as for me personally, closure. I’d like to make a TikTok about Josh and this article, you’ll be 100% credited for everything, I’d just like to reach out to see if you’d be ok with it
This gross toxicity is so prevalent in retail. Thank you, Kit for shining a light on this story and letting people share their experiences. Wishing new jobs soon to those that have been affected. If you can handle retail, you can handle anything!
As one of the few members of the IT department not replaced by GNC employees the plan was pretty obvious for anyone that was willing to see the truth. Hastily shutting down our eCommerce shipping operations was the initial sign things were going to get bad.... and boy did they ever. I was lucky enough to get out mere days before the mass layoffs. My heart goes out to all impacted by this mockery of a leadership team.
I am a store manager of a tier 3 store. I have seen decisions made that made me say "a lot of very colorful" 4 letter words!! I can confirm that it is true about working in a toxic environment! My DM was horrible! She bought into the manage with threats attitude that was rife at store level! At EVERY visit my job was threatened! I have over 25 years of management experience but was reduced to crying in my car before clocking in. I expected to be terminated EVERY DAY! I have never managed that way and am not going to start now! Rue 21 has been the ABSOLUTE WORST company I've ever worked for!! Employees are pawns in a game that can't be won.
This has the makings of a documentary. My daughter who works at a location informed me all but the manager at one store in Minnesota walked out so she has to close it alone. The retention bonus they offer is laughable. Cutting insurance right away is almost criminal. I hope Josh gets what coming to him
Not to mention the “$60,000” he claimed to give away to Store Managers after Christmas Break for contest they won! What a joke! Couldn’t give us raises for 3yrs but gave away that much money!!!
I am a store manager with access to emails. Rue 21 hired 3 new DM's 4/30/24 and fired them on 5/2/24. How low, low, low down was that? They didn't even get a chance to make a difference!! True story!!
Thank you for the inside scoop. I never heard of this company until it filed for bankruptcy. Keeping my eyes peeled for new - perhaps class action lawsuit/karmic - developments 👀
i am a current employee at rue21 (ptasm)and was supposed to get paid today they claim we will get paid tomorrow but it’s a waiting game! as well as have been told of retention plan of merely $200 that is to be given 30 days after stores have been closed but i’m not confident that i will see that money
I lived through the bankruptcy of Gymboree. Having to close a store you have put your heart and soul into for 11 years is devastating. But it was handled with way more dignity than this. It makes me sick. Not to mention I was a SM for Rue21 just a few years ago. I left because they were talking about forcing vaccinations. I am floored by these stories and can only hope the many people find new jobs and maybe even their “forever home” as I have done. Everything happens for a reason and karma always comes back around. Stay strong #RueCrew. You will bounce back better than ever. 🖤
I am one of the Corporate team members that was flushed out Wednesday due to a "Maintenance Emergency" then told in a pre-recorded message Thursday morning that we were out of work, and at midnight that night, out of benefits. I came here 6 months ago to improve the quality of life for my wife and 3 children, with promises of incentive raises and bonuses, only to find out the week before the collapse all of that was a lie and hadn't occured for years. Every single vendor of ours was shut off - we had no clothes to sell and no way to market them since Easter. What a shame, because with the exception of the aforementioned C-Level execs in your article, the employees of rue21 are some of the hardest working ones I've ever met or had the privilege to work with. Good luck to all finding your next adventure, with the obvious omission of Mr. Burris.
Benefits are usually paid for in advance. So your benefits should be good until may 31. However, if they are not you may be due a refund. Perhaps consult with HR or former HR if they were also fired.
This is bonkers, I hardly know where to start! I still can’t get past the lovely Josh referring to himself in the third person. 😳 I hope employees come out of this with their sanity and some cash in their pockets (in other words, that Rue21 gets sued). Absolutely brutal.
Though it is a long time since I read Moby Dick I distinctly remember Melville had a character refer to himself in the 3rd person to indicate he was insane
Josh is a nut job! I work at GNC Corporate and he would have put us back into bankruptcy too if he had the chance. The majority of his time was spent at dinner with Charlie Batch. Each dinner was expensed back to the company and was no less than $2k each time. It was insane. I feel awful for the rue21 employees, but I am extremely glad that GNC got rid of him before he could take us under.
Hello! I’m a Rue21 employee, me and my crew have been struggling for the past week with this whole situation, and this was an a very eye opening read, as well as for me personally, closure. I’d like to make a TikTok about Josh and this article, you’ll be 100% credited for everything, I’d just like to reach out to see if you’d be ok with it
Yes, absolutely! Thank you for asking.
I worked in marketing at rue for 2 years at $20 an hour with no raises! So funny to hear Josh had hundreds of thousands to pay his buddies
This gross toxicity is so prevalent in retail. Thank you, Kit for shining a light on this story and letting people share their experiences. Wishing new jobs soon to those that have been affected. If you can handle retail, you can handle anything!
As one of the few members of the IT department not replaced by GNC employees the plan was pretty obvious for anyone that was willing to see the truth. Hastily shutting down our eCommerce shipping operations was the initial sign things were going to get bad.... and boy did they ever. I was lucky enough to get out mere days before the mass layoffs. My heart goes out to all impacted by this mockery of a leadership team.
I am a store manager of a tier 3 store. I have seen decisions made that made me say "a lot of very colorful" 4 letter words!! I can confirm that it is true about working in a toxic environment! My DM was horrible! She bought into the manage with threats attitude that was rife at store level! At EVERY visit my job was threatened! I have over 25 years of management experience but was reduced to crying in my car before clocking in. I expected to be terminated EVERY DAY! I have never managed that way and am not going to start now! Rue 21 has been the ABSOLUTE WORST company I've ever worked for!! Employees are pawns in a game that can't be won.
This has the makings of a documentary. My daughter who works at a location informed me all but the manager at one store in Minnesota walked out so she has to close it alone. The retention bonus they offer is laughable. Cutting insurance right away is almost criminal. I hope Josh gets what coming to him
Not to mention the “$60,000” he claimed to give away to Store Managers after Christmas Break for contest they won! What a joke! Couldn’t give us raises for 3yrs but gave away that much money!!!
I am a store manager with access to emails. Rue 21 hired 3 new DM's 4/30/24 and fired them on 5/2/24. How low, low, low down was that? They didn't even get a chance to make a difference!! True story!!
Hands down your best article to date Kit. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
Thank you for the inside scoop. I never heard of this company until it filed for bankruptcy. Keeping my eyes peeled for new - perhaps class action lawsuit/karmic - developments 👀
i am a current employee at rue21 (ptasm)and was supposed to get paid today they claim we will get paid tomorrow but it’s a waiting game! as well as have been told of retention plan of merely $200 that is to be given 30 days after stores have been closed but i’m not confident that i will see that money
My daughter told me she was offered 300. Still a slap to the face.
I lived through the bankruptcy of Gymboree. Having to close a store you have put your heart and soul into for 11 years is devastating. But it was handled with way more dignity than this. It makes me sick. Not to mention I was a SM for Rue21 just a few years ago. I left because they were talking about forcing vaccinations. I am floored by these stories and can only hope the many people find new jobs and maybe even their “forever home” as I have done. Everything happens for a reason and karma always comes back around. Stay strong #RueCrew. You will bounce back better than ever. 🖤
Thank you so much for doing this