Former Foster’s Freeze assistant general manager Monica Navarro spoke on “The Bottom Line” about the sudden closure and other people’s reactions.
Another California small business and its employees appear to be suffering from the state’s new $20 minimum wage.
“I’m shocked,” Monica Navarro, former assistant general manager at Foster’s Freeze in Lemoore, said Wednesday on “The Bottom Line.”
“I wish I had been notified so I could go pick up my application.” [out]”The least I can do is honestly give you some references,” she continued.
As Navarro and his team headed to work Monday morning, they learned immediately upon arrival that the restaurant’s owner had decided to close. Owner Lauren Wright told local Fox affiliate KMPH that this was “the last thing” they wanted, but by Friday night, the business likely wouldn’t be able to absorb the wage increase and would be “in ruin.” “I didn’t want to let that happen,” he said. It’s their Easter Sunday. ”
California fast food franchise slams minimum wage, invests in Nevada with six-figure losses
A new California-wide law goes into effect Monday that imposes a $20 minimum wage on restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide, excluding those that make and sell their own bread.
The former assistant general manager of Foster’s Freeze in Lemoore, Calif., said the team was “shocked” to learn the restaurant was closing on Monday due to new minimum wage laws. (Fox News)
“In fact, two of my co-workers were going to work in the morning and right after that we got a call saying we were closing. So they found out right away as they were going to work for the day. ” Navarro recalled.
One of Navarro’s co-workers also told KMPH, “I got a message in the group chat saying it was shutting down, and I thought it was a complete April Fool’s joke.”
After further discussions with management and the owner of Foster’s Freeze, Navarro learned that minimum wage laws were a major factor in the restaurant’s demise.
California franchise owner Alex Johnson estimates his 10 restaurants will lose a total of $470,000 due to the state’s new minimum wage law.
“He did say it was because of the minimum wage increase, although my understanding is that we were exempt from the minimum wage increase because of the amount of land he personally owns. “Ultimately, I blamed the minimum wage hike,” she said.
“I understand their intention that raising the minimum wage will bring in more people,” the former manager added, “but honestly, I don’t think it’s going to work. This isn’t the first time they’ve gone out of business. . Some businesses are already closing down. I feel like this is just the beginning as some of my local businesses are closing as well. ”
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Los Angeles restaurateur Angela Marsden joins America’s Newsroom to discuss the direct impact of California’s fast food minimum wage hike on small businesses, including layoffs and store closures.
Navarro, speaking on behalf of the currently unemployed Foster’s Freeze team, argued that they would have been better off working for a lower hourly wage than being laid off.
“The people I talked to, the employees, they wanted to stay at their old wages just because they didn’t have a job right now,” Navarro said. “And the people who are still working in the areas around us, where wages have gone up to $20 an hour, have had their hours drastically reduced. And there are a lot fewer people working shifts. Their job has become even more difficult.”
FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
