Mod Pizza has closed 27 restaurant across the United States, including five in California, as of March 22, 2024, leading to concerns among former employees in Clovis, California, where the closure happened suddenly.
Former employees suggest that the timing of the closures coincided with the rise in the minimum wage for fast-food workers in California to $20 an hour. They believe that this increase may have influenced the decision to close the stores.
The closure left former employees feeling disheartened, particularly due to the lack of notice and the sudden nature of the shutdown. Some expressed disappointment with how the situation was handled, emphasizing that they were left in the dark until just two days before their final shift.
According to the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, employers are required to give a 60-day notice to affected employees before a mass layoff. However, in this case, employees claim they did not receive adequate notice.
While the corporation did not directly cite reasons for the closures, some former employees speculate that the wage hike played a significant role, considering the timing of the closures.
Despite initially supporting the wage increase, some former employees now question whether the repercussions, such as store closures and job losses, were worth it.
The closure has left a sense of sadness among former employees, many of whom invested significant time and effort into their roles at Mod Pizza. Some employees were let go without the option of transferring to a different location, but they did receive severance packages.
Overall, the sudden closures have raised concerns about the impact of minimum wage increases on businesses and employment in the fast-food industry.