New England grocery chain Market Basket on Tuesday dismissed two veteran leaders, Joseph Schmidt and Thomas Gordon, the now-former executives said at a press conference on Wednesday. The firings come amid a deepening leadership crisis at the company.
Schmidt served as director of operations for Market Basket, while Gordon was director of grocery. Both were suspended by Market Basket along with district supervisor Paul Quigley in May, when the supermarket chain put CEO Arthur T. Demoulas on paid leave as its executive committee launched an investigation into whether Demoulas was planning a work stoppage, according to WCVB. In total, Market Basket placed six people on leave, WMUR reported.
Market Basket said it fired Schmidt and Gordon for making untrue statements about the company and people connected with it as well as for communicating improperly with other employees, WMUR reported.
Schmidt and Quigley appeared on a program broadcast by Boston radio station GBH on Tuesday, during which they discussed the company’s decision to put Demoulas on leave.
Asked why he was suspended, Quigley said Market Basket put him in that status because he asked questions about why Demoulas was being investigated.
“What’s the end game here? What are we doing? When’s the boss coming back? Where's the investigation that you guys talked about? There was never any talk of any type of walkout or work stoppage,” he said.
During the GBH program, Schmidt and Quigley expressed support for Demoulas.
“[T]he right person [to run] the company is Mr. Demoulas, because it not only protects the community, the Market Basket culture, it’s something worth standing up for,” Schmidt said. “If you can’t stand up for something good in life, then what’s the purpose of life? … I believe in Mr. Demoulas and his leadership style and the respect that he has and everything he stands for.”
Gordon and Schmidt said during the press conference that Market Basket inaccurately characterized their terminations, adding that they hope to return to the company.
“We don’t know what’s next for us, but I can tell you that I’m never going to stop fighting for this company,” Schmidt said. “I’m never going to stop fighting for the associates of this company, and I’m never going to stop. I'm never going to stop fighting for the culture of this company.”
