Bloomberg BNA • Ben Penn
CKE Restaurants Inc., the conglomerate helmed by Labor Secretary-designate Andrew Puzder, notified 51 workers Jan. 3 that they will be laid off in March when the company relocates to Nashville, Tenn., according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg BNA.
A former CKE senior management employee who worked directly with Puzder at earlier stages of the relocation process spoke with Bloomberg BNA on condition of anonymity. The source alleged Puzder kept employees out of the loop when the company in 2011 was being wooed by Texas officials to move to the Lone Star State.
Puzder “never wanted to do any internal messaging about it,” said the former company director. Rather than keep employees informed, “his choice was always: ‘they don’t need to know; they just need to know where to show up to work,’ ” added the source, who was laid off by Puzder several years ago and acknowledged harboring “strong feelings” about the company.