LOS ANGELES - Sephora announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it has laid off “a portion” of its part-time and seasonal store employees.
The company said in a statement that the impacted employees are those who had worked for Sephora for a short tenure and limited hours, and have been offered severance.
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“It’s our sincerest hope that we are able to bring them back on staff in the near future,” the company wrote.
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According to Business Insider, Brittney Coorpender, a former skin-care adviser in a California Sephora store said that she and thousands of other workers were given nearly 10 minutes notice before being asked to join a conference call conducted by a district manager, where they were informed of being let go.
"You could hear everyone absolutely sobbing," Coorpender told Insider. "I hung up as soon as I heard the first person cry at the end. I couldn't take it. I was in tears myself."
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Coorpender posted about the experience on Twitter where she said none of the employees were allowed to speak.
FILE - A closed sign is seen on the boarded-up entrance of the Sephora store at Country Club Plaza as the Coronavirus Pandemic causes a climate of anxiety and changing routines in America on April 02, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“Sephora ruined our lives. Lol. Point blank period. Great conference call guys! Thanks for hanging up and not letting anyone speak. Thanks for breaking all our hearts. But ‘beauty stands together’ right?" Coorpender wrote.
Sephora has not commented on the conference call, however, the company says it remains committed to paying over 9,000 of its U.S. store employees.
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“We have been able to ensure they will be paid 100 percent based on average hours worked and existing health benefits through late May or until our stores re-open, whichever happens sooner. This includes all of our full-time store employees and licensed Beauty Advisors,” the company wrote.