Lululemon CEO defends firing 2 Gwinnett store employees who called police about thieves

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
5

The CEO of Lululemon has responded to criticism after his decision to fire two employees from a Peachtree Corners location, who called the police mid-robbery.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging during a theft,” CEO Calvin McDonald told CNBC...”They’re trained to step back, let the theft occur, know that there’s technology and there’s cameras, and we’re working with law enforcement.”

Rachel Rogers captured the frightening moments on cellphone video last month when three brazen robbers walked into her store and began stealing thousands of dollars worth of clothing from the store at the Forum Shops in Peachtree Corners.

The 23-year-old told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that the three men grabbed as much as they could before they bolted from the store where their getaway driver was waiting.

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“They’re just full-blown, like, running circles around you grabbing as much as they can,” Rogers said. “And it’s a scary feeling, and you don’t know how to react. So, our reaction is to scream, ‘No! Get out! Leave!’”

Rogers said she and her former coworker Jennifer Ferguson were shaken but uninjured, and immediately reported the robbery to police.

But two weeks later, they were let go and fired after they learned that they had both violated company policy. Rogers said it was because the two called police.

A Lululemon spokesperson gave Channel 2 Action News the following statement, refuting that the two were fired for calling the police.

“The two employees at our Peachtree Corners location in Georgia were not terminated for calling the police. They were terminated for knowingly violating our zero-tolerance policy related to physically engaging with the perpetrators which put their lives and the safety of our guests and other employees at risk. Employees are able and instructed to call 911 when needed, and that was not the cause of termination in this case. We are grateful no one was hurt during this altercation.”

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Rogers told Seiden that she was frustrated because she’s been dealing with this same problem for the last eight months.

“I’ve experienced it probably five or six times, and I know it’s happened on other occasions when other people are working,” Rogers said.

Investigators say the same group of robbers struck again the following day in Peachtree City where police arrested and charged them with multiple felonies.

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