Letter to the Board of Directors, KKR & Co. L.P., and the Board of Trustees, Vornado Realty Trust - Fairness for Toys "R' Us Workers Following Bankruptcy
Letter
To Whom It May Concern:
We write to urge you to do everything in your power to support the thousands of Toys "R' Us workers who will soon lose their jobs as the company closes its doors.
The planned closure of Toys "R' Us, headquartered in New Jersey, marks the end of an iconic American company with approximately 33,000 workers, including more than 1,600 employees in our state. The heart of this story is not about industry changes, big-box retailers, or e-commerce. Rather, it was a deal--with some $5 billion in debt--that was flawed from the start.
Between debt payments and hundreds of millions of dollars in fees to your firms, the company was simply unable to make the investments in operations and technology needed to adapt and compete in the ever-changing retail sector. Absent crippling debt payments, as well as a reported $470 million in management fees and payments paid to Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado Realty Trust, we have little doubt Toys "R' Us would be a profitable company and job creator today.
Now, as Toys "R' Us plans to close its U.S. stores, the 33,000 workers across the country who have supported Toys "R' Us are left to face the consequences. Many Toys "R' Us employees have spent years, even decades, as anchors of their communities, operating Toys "R' Us stores, distribution centers, and facilities across the country. But after the company's bankruptcy and planned closure, all of these workers will be left without a job--and, crucially, without the severance pay that employees often receive after mass layoffs.
Still, there is a chance to do right by the company's workers. We urge you to fully examine and adopt any and all measures to support the more than 30,000 Toys "R' Us employees who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and now have to navigate the hard transition. We can all agree that they deserve nothing less than the fullest support possible.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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