49er Shops lay off hundreds of student-employees amid coronavirus pandemic

The 49er Shops human resources department notified 403 of its employees Monday that they would be laid off as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Jobs varied from entry-levels such as baristas, all the way up to store managers.

Employees were notified all at once through the course of four repetitive emails, all of which disclosed the names of those who were being laid off.

This left many student employees like first-year public relations student Isabella Arnold upset with just how “unprofessional” the process was. 

“I think it’s embarrassing how they delivered obviously upsetting information so unprofessionally and with such excess,” Arnold said. “[It’s] borderline comedic.”

In its notice, the HR team noted that the massive changes the campus has made led to the shops to only operate “essential functions of the organization,” leading to the hundreds of layoffs.

“The change in campus direction has significantly affected our operations and our ability to achieve economic and commercial success, forcing us to close the majority of our retail… until the unforeseen future,” the email read. 

This email comes after a prior message from 49er Shops director of human resources, Rosa Hernandez, who assured student employees last week that they would be paid up until March 29. 

In the time between both emails, many student employees, supervisors and managers had received no updates from shop management. All employees were guaranteed up to this point was their regular, weekly pay.

The Daily Forty-Niner reached out to the 49er Shops and is awaiting a response. 

For up-to-date coverage on coronavirus at CSULB, visit our live coverage page.