Former Employees Meet With PennySaver CEO In Wake Of Abrupt Shutdown

BREA (CBSLA.com) — Employees of the now-defunct PennySaver discount newsletter met with company officials Tuesday after operations were suddenly shut down last week.

The voluntary meeting comes on the heels of a statement from PennySaver CEO Ron Myers, which said the company's "lender unexpectedly ceased our funding late Friday evening."

"Without any funding the company was forced to immediately cease operations. We empathize with our employees during this difficult time, and are continuing to work through several options for the company, including ongoing discussions with a potential buyer and working with our lender to re-secure the line of capital to continue operations," the statement read.

Employees say there weren't given any notice prior to the shutdown, with some workers seeing an abrupt end to decades-long careers.

"They just are chopping us into pieces and they don't care, I feel like you're a little cockroach, just go home, pack your stuff and go," said Ivette Mastronardi.

Richard McCune, an attorney based in Redlands, has been asked to investigate whether PennySaver broke any laws by going out of business without giving employees proper notice.

"Employees for a larger organization like this have the right to get 60 days notice before a layoff and these employees were at their desks working at 4:30 on Friday and suddenly told they're no longer working," said McClune.

Employees hoped to receive paychecks from the company at the meeting.

"Well we just got our checks, and they're basically saying that Capitol One issued these checks on Friday, but the problem is that there (are) no funds in it," former employee Danci Berg Stresser said. "So there's no money, and to top it off, they're not giving us our vacation pay."

One worker inside the meeting actually fainted, prompting a visit from the Brea Fire Department.