Lululemon fired two employees from their metro Atlanta location after they chased looters out of the store and called 911.
The two employees, former assistant manager Jennifer Ferguson, and one of her employees, Rachel Rogers, are now speaking up about their termination.
In video of the incident, the thieves can be seen bursting into the Peachtree Corners store to grab as much as they could.
“No, no, no, you can march back out,” Ferguson can be heard telling them to no avail.
The two employees follow the looters outside and watch as they get into their car, but did not try to stop them. Rather, they called 911 to report the robbery to the Gwinnett Police Department and the thieves were apprehended and slapped with felony robbery charges, according to the New York Post.
Apparently the women were supposed to do nothing about the robbery and that’s why they got canned.
“We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they’re going to do,” Ferguson told 11Alive. “And then, after it’s over, you scan a QR code. And that’s that. We’ve been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. We’re not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it.”
Rogers said prior to their firing a regional manager questioned the two about why they called law enforcement…to enforce the law.
Ferguson’s husband blasted the company on Facebook.
“I am more than proud to announce that my wife went into ‘fight’ mode. She protected herself and the other employees and the store by yelling at them to get out. She defended her space and her people,” he wrote.
“This is where my blood begins to boil," he added. "These are two exemplary employees, both leaders and looking to advance within the company. And what was their reward? They were immediately terminated without mention of severance or any financial consideration.”
He claimed they were told it would “look bad for Lululemon to be the company calling the police” and that beyond being told the company has a “no-tolerance policy,” the women weren’t given any “specific reasoning” for their termination.
The looters had reportedly hit up the store a dozen times prior to the incident that got the employees fired.
According to the Lululemon handbook, the company does not allow “leaving the store to pursue a guest or gather additional information about the suspected or observed theft,” the Post reports, though they are required to call the police after the suspects have left.
Lululemon fired two female employees for confronting shoplifters who were ransacking their Peachtree Corners, Atlanta store and calling the police on them. pic.twitter.com/WolX7RCqS3
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 29, 2023
— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_in_Flint) May 29, 2023
.@lululemon would rather fire two employees for the non-confrontational following behind brazen thieves to get a license plate and push the cost of mass retail theft onto its consumers than provide staff with adequate security from criminals. This is a #boycott I can get behind. pic.twitter.com/LyRbf0xL98
— Charles Adams (@bigangrylaw) May 29, 2023
Update: In a statement to Townhall, a Lululemon spokesperson made clear the employees were not fired for calling the police, but because they "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."