‘No warning, no heads up’: Hundreds of Subway employees blindsided, left without final paychecks after sudden closures

GLADSTONE, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - Over 200 employees across 23 different Subway locations in Oregon were unexpectedly left without jobs when they learned their restaurants were being shut down.

One of those locations has a sign on the door that reads ‘This location is temporarily closed. Stay healthy and see you soon!’

Joanne Kennedy managed that location and she said that sign is about as much information as she received when they closed.

“No warning, no heads up, no transparency, completely and totally blindsided, every one of us,” Kennedy told KPTV.

She said things started to change a few weeks ago when she started noticing that the food orders she was placing were not arriving.

“There was no communication, there was just ‘keep doing your job, business as usual,’ that’s what I was told, business as usual, they’re looking for a resolution for the food order,” Kennedy said. “We were all trading food in between stores trying to keep everyone’s doors open, and then no food came.”

Crystal Eang managed the Cascade Station location, and also acted as District Manager.

“Monday rolled around it was like you guys are not getting paid, we don’t have the money to pay you,” Eang said.

All of the locations that shut down were franchised by CapTen Enterprises and Subfecta LLC.

Owner Ann Bell told KPTV that it all started when her bank account was hacked and she lost all of the money in that bank account. As the loss was fraud, it was not covered by the FDIC.

She said she was unable to pay their food supplier, U.S. Foods, and they cut off services to her restaurants.

She said since Subway’s ownership was under transition at the time, she couldn’t get the support she needed to keep the restaurants alive.

Bell said at that point, she was put in a difficult position to close down.

“I do understand people’s frustration, I totally get that,” she said. “The timing couldn’t have been worse.”

She said she has been working with the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to get her employees their final paychecks, and she intends for everyone to be paid what they are owed.

Kennedy and Eang both told KPTV that they had reached out to the owners for answers, and while they were connected to the BOLI process, they were told it could take up to 100 days to process.

“I’ve got a car payment coming up, I’ve got insurance, I got cell phone bills,” Kennedy said. “I live paycheck to paycheck supporting my kids, I don’t know where I’m going to get grocery money now.”

Kennedy has found another job in the meantime, and Eang is hoping for unemployment benefits until she can decide next steps, but they’re still recovering from the shock of having their long-time careers ripped away without any idea why it happened.

“I’ve cried for over a week and a half,” Eang said. “You put so much trust in somebody who says they’re going to take care of you and it’s going to be okay and you’re going to be fine, and it’s the trust that’s broken, and it shatters you.”

KPTV reached out to the Subway corporation, and a spokesperson provided the following comment:

“Our priority is to ensure guests can continue enjoying freshly made, high-quality, delicious food by identifying experienced operators within our system who can quickly take ownership and re-open the restaurants.”

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