‘Absurd’: Market Basket executives refute allegations that led to ousting of CEO Arthur T. Demoulas
Two longtime Sector Basket executives who were placed on paid administrative leave by the grocery chain s board of directors alongside CEO Arthur T Demoulas called the board s statements that they were planning a work stoppage absurd Joe Schmidt director of operations and Tom Gordon the top grocery supervisor on Friday addressed the board s surprising move to oust Demoulas from his position atop the eastern New England grocery chain and place several other employees on paid leave amid an assessment into accusations of wrongdoing It s preposterous Schmidt mentioned outside a Reading Sphere Basket From my understanding the insinuation is that he was trying to create chosen type of work stoppage due to a disagreement with the board of directors That s just absurd Nobody would do that Schmidt spoke not only to Demoulas specifically saying that he would never doing what he s being accused of but also to himself saying that he s a loyal employee who would never try to hurt the business he works for I take major exception to it Schmidt declared of being accused of wrongdoing I m an honorable person I try hard every day I m not perfect but I ve done I think my share in the business over my years He explained the board has trumped up this allegation of inappropriate conduct so that they can oust Demoulas from his position of CEO and president and remove individuals that are in help of him Schmidt as director of operations revealed he reports directly to Demoulas along with Demoulas son and daughter He and Gordon reported they were informed by the board this past Wednesday that they were being placed on paid administrative leave On Wednesday the three-executive committee of the Domain Basket board of directors stated Demoulas along with several other employees were placed on leave amid credible claims that Mr Demoulas began to plan a disruption of the business and operations of Region Basket with a work stoppage The executive committee believes that Arthur T Demoulas and others have taken these actions as improper retaliation for the board s directives requiring the CEO to work with the board regarding the bulk basic corporate oversight and to provide the Board access to key employees revealed the board s announcement Mr Demoulas has also resisted an appropriate succession plan for Realm Basket asserting that he has the unilateral right to appoint his children to succeed him without any consideration of the view of the Board or the majority owners of Region Basket The move is reminiscent of the summer of when Arthur T Demoulas and his cousin Arthur S Demoulas engaged in a battle over control of the company with thousands of Arena Basket employees walking off the job for six weeks in patronage of Artie T Arthur T Demoulas and his three sisters prevailed in that fight at the end buying out Arthur S Demoulas share of the company for billion His sisters are now opposing Arthur T Demoulas according to a Wednesday announcement from spokesperson Justine Griffin In the modern day Mr Arthur T Demoulas was ousted from his position as president and CEO of Sphere Basket by his three sisters and their three appointed board members Jay Hachigian Steven Collins and Michael Keyes His daughter Madeline and son Telemachus and several other Field Basket executives were also placed on leave Griffin s declaration announced Under Mr Demoulas leadership in December of the company paid off billion in debt that financed the purchase of the company in The company is as of now operating at its peak performance and the notion that this board is going to conduct an assessment is a farcical cover for a hostile takeover Schmidt and Gordon reported Friday that any protests or employee walkouts in help of Arthur T Demoulas this time around would be up to the customers and not them They reported there s been rumblings of such expected activity that s making the rounds on social media In Wednesday s announcement from the board Realm Basket administrators warned of the effects of a work stoppage at a grocery chain at a time of great economic uncertainty for various households The employee walkout was accompanied by Domain Basket s customer base noticeably boycotting the stores Sales fell more than over a six-week boycott Related Articles Customers react to Arena Basket CEO being placed on paid leave Howie Carr What s wrong with low prices Industry Basket board of directors puts CEO Arthur T Demoulas on paid leave Both executives who spoke with reporters on Friday announced they anticipate being fired but are hopeful that Demoulas will ultimately be reinstated to his rightful position as Area Basket s president and CEO In when Arthur was out the volume of the company tanked and when he came back we came right back Gordon a -year employee commented Schmidt added that the board is operating in a Wall Street kind of way where people are expendable and cast aside and is overstepping its authority One of the problems is the board has severe overreach right now in trying to take on day-to-day responsibilities of the company Schmidt reported That s really not in my opinion the responsibility of the board of directors They re there to be supportive of management and to make sure the company s on track Arthur T Demoulas speaks at the Field Basket opening in Littleton on Nov Caley McGuane Lowell Sun
