On Dec. 20, Party City announced to the public and its employees that it would be shutting down and filing bankruptcy, effective immediately. According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate workers over Zoom that it would be their last day and they would not receive severance.
On TikTok, one of the laid-off Party City workers recounts the lay-off and slams the company for “shady” practices surrounding the shutdown.
In a video with over 562,000 views, TikToker Hebah (@hebahwithanh) says that she—alongside others—received no warning that Party City was struggling financially prior to the announcement.
“We were given zero days notice. So no, the WARN act didn’t come into play,” she says. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law that requires companies to give at least 60 days of notice before a mass layoff, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, “unforeseen business circumstances” and “faltering companies” are an exception.
“We were told that the company is shut down effective immediately,” she says, adding that no worker was offered severance. However, they were allowed to keep work laptops, phones, and tablets for personal use.
“The company had been involved in a lot of shady things, which I could get into,” she continues. “They were not able to dig themselves out of the grave.”
What were the ‘shady’ practices?
In a video responding to a comment asking for more details, Hebah dishes on alleged “shady” practices by Party City.
She says Party City took a loan out, using its inventory as leverage. However, she claims that upper management wasn’t being transparent.
“But we were lying about inventory,” she claims. “We were audited and caught in a lie.”
Hebah alleges that Party City’s assets were frozen after the audit, leading to missed payments to vendors.
“We did not know this as employees,” she says. “Investors were dropping out. And I don’t blame them.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Party City via email for further information.
The layoff announcement
In a follow-up video, Hebah shares a clip of the Zoom meeting in which all Party City corporate employees were laid off.
In the clip, CEO Barry Litwin points to “inflationary pressures on cost” and “consumer spending” as reasons for the abrupt shutdown of the business. He turns over the mic to a teary human resources representative who explains that there will be no severance package or further paychecks.
The caption reads, “Shoutout to all the Party City employees. I’m sorry we were let down.”
Viewers react
“Doing this 5 days before Christmas is crazy! Shame on Party City,” a viewer says.
“HOW is that legal?!?” another writes.
“They ALWAYS do this during the holidays it’s so messed up!” a third adds.
“I’m honestly so sorry, corporate America is a disease… zero humanity, zero empathy. I hope you can find a new job soon,” another commenter offers.
Others who have previously been laid off share advice on navigating the situation.
“File a claim for any unpaid PTO and severance with the bankruptcy court. Similar thing happened to me in 2020. The money may never come but I’m finally getting a check and it’s a few thousand,” one writes.
“Time to update your resume with a higher position than you had because who are they gonna verify with!” another suggests.
@hebahwithanh Shame on them. And yes i know my smoke detector is beeping leave me alone. #partycity #toxic #layedoff #unemployed ♬ original sound – Hebah
The Daily Dot reached out to Hebah via TikTok direct message and comment.
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