Alcon to lay off dozens of food service workers at Fort Worth campus on Christmas Eve
Eye care device company Alcon will lay off as many as 75 third-party food service workers at its Fort Worth campus on Christmas Eve, according to a company memo sent to the workers.
The employees work for food service provider Sodexo, which lost its contract with Alcon to a competitor.
“Alcon will be terminating services and contract with Sodexo on 12/24/2024, which would be 60-day notice from today,” an Alcon sourcing manager said in a termination notice sent to Sodexo. “We appreciate your understanding in this matter. We would also like to take a moment to thank you for your partnership with Alcon.”
The letter was sent to the Star-Telegram by one of the employees facing termination, and verified by the sourcing manager who sent it. It is dated Oct. 22. The employee who sent it preferred to remain anonymous out of concerns for future employment opportunities.
A spokesperson for Alcon initially referred the Star-Telegram to Sodexo for comment.
A Sodexo spokesperson said, “In most cases, including this one, all or a percentage of employees are retained by the new vendor.”
She did not respond to follow-up questions about what percentage of employees have been offered and accepted jobs with the new vendor.
The Alcon spokesperson responded to follow-up questions the day after publication, saying that this article and headline are “grossly misleading,” since the workers under the contract Alcon chose to end on Christmas Eve aren’t technically Alcon employees.
“Alcon does not employ Sodexo employees, nor does it play any role in its vendors’ staffing decisions,” the spokesperson said.
Alcon Laboratories was founded in Fort Worth in 1945. The company is headquartered in Geneva, but its Fort Worth location is its operational center.
The new vendor is San Antonio-based Guckenheimer, according to the Sodexo employee who reached out to the Star-Telegram. Around 60% of the employees facing layoffs have decided to take jobs with the company, he said. Others have decided to take jobs at other companies where Sodexo has contracts, while some have decided to take their chances in the job market. Many were offered wages lower than their current pay, he said.
Guckenheimer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The employee said he disapproved of how the layoffs have been executed. The contract under which he and his coworkers are employed was originally set to expire in February, he said, but Alcon opted to end the contract using a 60-day termination clause.
The employee said he believes that Alcon wanted to take advantage of the campus being closed for the holidays to make the change, so as not to disrupt normal business operations later in the new year.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information comes in.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 2:08 PM.
