Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) —Two longtime Market Basket executives are speaking out after they were fired by the company. Joe Schmidt and Tom Gordon worked at Market Basket for a combined 89 years and were both loyal to Arthur T. Demoulas, the suspended CEO. The pair was fired on Tuesday.
The former Director of Operations and Grocery Director were accused by the Market Basket Board of Directors of planning a work stoppage, which the pair denied.
The Board of Directors of Market Basket has since said the duo were fired for "insubordination, making false and derogatory remarks about the company and people associated with it, and inappropriate communications with colleagues." Both former employees disputed those claims in a news conference on Wednesday.
“If somebody thinks that either Mr. Gordon or myself are just going to go away at this point, they’re solely mistaken, I'm not going anywhere, and neither is he,” said Schmidt. “I think they’re not only silencing myself and Mr. Gordon, but I think their intention, and they’ve made it clear to the organization, is that they want to silence others.”
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The pair said the firing is part of a plan from the higher-ups to push out anyone still loyal to the CEO. Schmidt claimed the move was orchestrated by the three Demoulas sisters, who still have a controlling share of the grocery stores.
The board of the company took issue with the alleged behavior of the two employees after their suspension in May.
"Gordon and Schmidt have spent weeks waging an unauthorized media campaign disparaging Market Basket and its board, including through multiple interviews that they acknowledged to investigators were not authorized by the company," the board said in a statement.
The two executives say everything is on the table to get their jobs back, and declined to rule out legal action against the board at the news conference.
“Quite frankly, I think it’s a coup. I think it has been from day one. There’s an agenda from the sisters to remove the boss, they’ve done that,” said Schmidt.
The two say that if Arthur T. isn’t back soon, it could mean big changes for Market Basket's culture.
“You might not feel like going to pick up that head of lettuce today, but as things go on, if things continue on this trajectory, it’s my opinion that you'll see a big difference,” said Schmidt.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.