Boss of furniture manufacturer who fired 2k workers two days before ... trends now

Rumors are swirling that the boss of a furniture manufacturer has jetted off to Paris after firing 2,700 workers while they were still in bed two days before Thanksgiving. 

United Furniture Industries owner, David Belford, 62, of Gahanna, Ohio - a Columbus suburb - text and emailed employees in Mississippi, North Carolina, and California in the night to say their services were no longer needed and not to come into work. 

There have since been reports he has taken off to Paris, despite many claiming what he did was illegal as he did not give a 60-day notice period. 

'No one has heard from the owner,' Philip Hearn, an attorney representing hundreds of laid-off workers, told the New York Post. 'He’s not returning anyone’s phone calls. It’s such a horrible situation.' 

The company held an emergency meeting on November 20 and decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but later pulled the decision, according to Hearn. 

'It sounds like the management team came up with a plan to save the company but Belford said: ‘That’s a wrap - not doing it,' Hearn told the Post. 

His absence has left UFI’s lenders scrambling to work out what to do with the business' assets, buildings, and furious employees. Belford is the only one who can call the shots or make legal decisions, a source told the Post. 

'He irresponsibly shut down his company without advance notice to anyone,' the source said. 'And he has the means to do this the right way.' 

DailyMail.com has attempted to contact Belford and his family several times but did not immediately hear back. 

A memo, sent late on November 20, told workers: 'At the instruction of the board of directors … we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately, on November 21.'

The memo did not offer any specific details about what led to the layoffs, merely referring to it as a 'difficult and unexpected situation.'

A second email informed workers their 'layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA,' referring to the federal law that gives people who lose their jobs an option to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage under some circumstances.

Company drivers who were out making deliveries were told to return to a United Furniture location immediately to turn in their trucks, most were told that they would be paid through the end of the week.

The Daily Press reports that a United Furniture Industries driver was arrested in Monroe County, Mississippi, for allegedly attempting to remove furniture from his truck. 

Employees claim there was no hint that the company was struggling financially prior to the layoffs, despite a management shake up in the summer.