TEWKSBURY, Mass. — Arthur T. Demoulas, affectionately known as ‘Artie T’ to tens of thousands of Market Basket workers and shoppers, blasted the grocery chain’s board of directors on Wednesday after they unanimously voted to remove him as CEO.
Justine Griffin, Demoulas’ spokesperson, called the board’s firing of the grocery chain’s longtime president and CEO a “farcical cover-up for a coup.”
Market Basket board chair Jay K. Hachigian said Demoulas was fired from his position late Tuesday after an “unsuccessful” mediation session in Delaware last week and a failed follow-up video conference.
Griffin alleged the board fired Demoulas in violation company bylaws.
“They fired Mr. Demoulas in a 10:30 p.m. board meeting last night, without providing him any meaningful opportunity to be heard, in violation of the company bylaws,” Griffin explained.
Griffin also alleged the board failed to negotiate in good faith during the mediation efforts.
“Arthur T. Demoulas is deeply disappointed that mediation failed despite his very determined efforts to reach a resolution. Over time, it became clear to us that this was not a good-faith effort by the board or his sisters to reach an agreement on the issues created by their abrupt actions, placing Arthur T. Demoulas, his family, and members of his senior management team on leave. It is now crystal clear that they had no intention of reinstating Mr. Demoulas,” Griffin said in a statement.
The board labeled Demoulas a “dictator” in a legal action filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, claiming that he gave the company’s other leadership members no choice but to part with him.
Demoulas “forced the board to choose between accepting his autocratic control of Market Basket or terminating him in order to protect a vibrant and growing business that cannot flourish over the long-term under the leadership of a dictator,” the board said in court documents.
Demoulas was put on leave in May after the company’s board accused him of planning a work stoppage, prompting a monthslong investigation that lingered throughout the summer.
“As we said on May 28, the Board’s actions are a farcical cover-up for a coup. The so-called investigation was designed from the start to falsely tarnish the reputation of Mr. Demoulas and his leadership team. Mediation has now demonstrated that to be true,” Griffin said. “They took a company that was operating at peak performance and recklessly threw it into turmoil, and did so in a needlessly public manner and on baseless grounds fabricated from the start.”
In the weeks leading up to Demoulas’ firing, several other executives loyal to Demoulas were canned from their positions, including Joseph Schmidt and Tom Gordon, who were both banned from setting foot on the grocery store chain’s property.
Schmidt and Gordon also called their firings a “pre-planned coup” spearheaded by the Demoulas sisters, who are majority shareholders in Market Basket. The three Demoulas sisters, Frances Kettenbach, Glorianne Demoulas Farnham, and Caren Demoulas Pasquale, later voted to oust longtime board member Bill Shea, their brother’s last remaining ally.
Demoulas remained hopeful of returning to work throughout the entirety of his suspension, according to Griffin.
“Mr. Demoulas’ passion for the company and his care for the associates remains unchanged,” Griffin stated.
Hachigian, Steven Collins, and Michael Keyes are the only remaining board members, all of whom were appointed by the three Demoulas sisters.
Hachigian assured Market Basket workers and shoppers that the chain will not change its operations in the wake of Demoulas’ departure.
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