They're 'Not Supposed To Get In The Way': Lululemon CEO Defends HORRIBLE Decision To Fire Employees For Attempting To Prevent Robbery

Lululemon’s CEO stood behind the ridiculous decision of the company terminating two employees that called the police while three masked men robbed a store in Georgia, specifically referencing the company’s bizarre “zero-tolerance policy” for intervening in the case of a robbery.

The robbery occurred back in May when three masked black men were videoed robbing the Lululemon store with storeworkers, one of them being an assistant manager, telling the robbers that they can “march back out,” per the New York Post. The men just walked into the store one at a time with no physical confrontation from employees, grabbed handfuls of merchandise, and then walked right out the door. 

The workers, Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers, made what would seem like an extremely reasonable response by calling the police after the incident. Authorities were able to use the videos filmed by the duo to find and charge the thieves with felony robbery charges. Following the incident, both women were fired from their positions.

“We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they’re going to do,” Ferguson said in an 11Alive interview. “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.” 

CEO of the company Calvin McDonalds spoke on CNBC’s 'Squawk on the Street' where he stood behind the decision to terminate the two female employees, saying, “We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging during a theft.”

 

"The [employees] knowingly broke the policy, engaged with the thieves...that was what resulted in the termination."

Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald on backlash after firing staff who intervened in store robbery.@CNBC @SaraEisen $LULU pic.twitter.com/mBMZCJ1E3l

— Squawk on the Street (@SquawkStreet) June 2, 2023

“Educators” is the term that Lululemon uses for its workers.

McDonald clarified that the female workers were not fired for calling the cops but instead for attempting to engage with the thieves which goes against the company policy. The workers both stated that they were aware of this policy but when they were terminated they were never provided a “specific reason” for their job loss.

McDonald defended the policy of letting thieves steal from the store without any intervention from employees, saying that the policy was in place “because we put the safety of our team, of our guest, front, and center. It’s only merchandise. They’re trained to step back, let the theft occur, know that there’s technology and there’s cameras and we’re working with law enforcement.”

“We take that policy seriously because we have had instances — and we have seen with other retailers, instances — where employees step in and are hurt, or worse, killed. And the policy is to protect them. But we have to stand behind the policy to enforce it,” the Lululemon CEO added.

Somehow the world has become so twisted that attempting to defend your place of employment from blatant robbers can cost someone their job. The women did nothing wrong even if Lululemon’s unreasonable guide says they did. The duo made attempts within reason to defend the products while keeping their and the customer's safety in mind. It’s shameful to see the company punish people who do the right thing and it seems like Lululemon is intent on doing just that.