Open Produce joins the ranks of JP Morgan, Sun Microsystems (but not in a good way)

It seems every company I’ve ever heard of is laying of workers left and right recently; and, unfortunately, Open Produce has to do the same.

Though business has been slowly but steadily increasing, after poring over our balance sheets, Andrew and I decided there was no way we could become profitable in the short term while paying out 3.5 full-time positions. Since our cash reserves are running fairly dry (i.e. this payroll cycle will probably put our bank account balance in the triple digits), today we gave notice to two full-time employees and our part-time employee, and, after they leave, the store will be run by just me and Andrew, plus one employee (Beth, who has been with us the longest). This really wasn’t an easy decision — our employees have been more helpful and understanding than we could have asked for — but I think it is the right one, since it means we will be just about breaking even instead of losing money fast. It won’t be pleasant for us, since we will have to stretch the existing work over half as many people, and it certainly won’t be pleasant for the three who no longer have a job (especially in the current economic climate), but the alternative is some serious financial problems in very short order. Avoiding that is worth the unpleasantness.

We wish our departing employees the very best of luck, and they will have first shot at any job openings we may have in the future.

On the shelf: horned melon, cilantro, basil, brussels sprouts, sparkling cider, asian soy milk, acorn squash, concord grapes, shitake mushrooms, bosc and d’anjou pears, miso, fried tofu, tempeh, muscat gummies, ready-to-eat Indian food.