PennySaver employees say closure meeting was chaotic, confusing

BREA, Calif. (KABC) -- Executives from PennySaver met with former employees on Tuesday to talk about the company's sudden closure.

Anxious workers had gathered outside PennySaver, looking for answers after the company abruptly closed last week, but a half hour into the meeting, many walked out.

"Leaving with no pay, no severance, no payments for vacation time," said Troy Moss, a PennySaver regional sales manager.

Many workers said the afternoon meeting was chaotic and confusing. They were all offered a final paycheck. But 15 minutes later, they were told that Capital One Bank just called, and the checks are invalid.

"We put our heart and soul into this, and I'm personally offended that he talks to us like we are not even part of this business anymore," said Scott Sidoryk, a PennySaver sales manager.

Sidoryk has worked as a sales manager for 20 of the 50 years that PennySaver has helped connect buyers with sellers.

"We are a family, and we believed with our heart that they would do the right thing," Sidoryk said.

In a statement Sunday, the CEO of the company said, "PennySaver did everything possible to stay in business and was in the process of pursuing a number of alternatives when our lender unexpectedly ceased our funding late Friday evening."

Employees say they feel for their customers, like Michael Tran, whose La Habra furniture company advertises through PennySaver.

"I've been doing a lot with PennySaver, and it's just a shock to me," Tran said.

Some workers say that things changed when Open Gate Capital acquired PennySaver in 2013.

After the doors closed at PennySaver, the CEO said they were still talking with a potential buyer, but workers told ABC7 that that is no longer the case. The company has not commented further.