The computer and electronics retail giant, CompUSA, is in the process of liquidating nearly all of its stores, leaving thousands of workers without a job. Though a tiny fraction of stores are reportedly in the process of being bought out by Systemax/Tiger Direct, the message to the great majority of CompUSA workers is generally the same: You'll have to find somewhere else to work.--Evidently, the company has been beaten out by other giants such as Best Buy and Circuit City, all the while losing business due to the more recent trend of computer and hardware shopping/sales being done online. With over one hundred stores across the nation, this is certainly a substantial loss for the owners, shareholders, and frequent customers of CompUSA, but even more so for its loyal and dedicated employees, who only found out that closure was imminent in December.--Based on reports from CompUSA, the message was fairly clear: Employees were confident that they would keep their jobs as recent as spring of last year; Liquidation only became apparent this past December and many workers will receive no severance eat all. Of course, CompUSA offers support for their consumers regarding rebates, gift cards, insurance plans, etc. (http://www.compusaconsumerhelp.com/), but its commitment to its own workers is shamelessly lacking.--The media writes of bad management and/or shareholder decisions , poor employee training and customer service, and other reasons for the company's fallout, but this not in any way the fault of the CompUSA's employees themselves. In fact, one will find it difficult to locate any mention of CompUSA's workers or their treatment during this difficult liquidation process--a time with huge sales, huge customer turnouts, and lots of hard work...yet, still no job waiting for them in the coming weeks.The feeling of betrayal is palpable among many CompUSA employees I've spoken to. As a sea of consumers take advantage of the liquidation sales, the workers were forced to answer a barrage of questions while silently having to contemplate what they would do to survive after February or March in a very difficult job market.--Today it is the workers of CompUSA who must quickly look for another job (in a shrinking economy, no less), significantly alter their personal finances, and lose the sense of 'family' or 'teamwork' that they supposedly had had for years at CompUSA. But we must always remember that they are not the first to be in such desperate position, and certainly won't be the last. They are us, and we are them. -AldousOrwell, Brandworkers International
