Following this week’s news that nearly 800 Barneys employees in New York could lose their jobs in as little as two weeks, Page Six hears that some staffers at the bankrupt luxury retailer were not taking it well.
One employee was overheard around town telling a pal of the scene: “It’s three-hour boozy lunches, getting drunk, things aren’t getting paid, it’s chaos. People are exiting left and right.”
But another source at the store insisted to us, “There’s no chaos in the office.”
The Post reported Thursday that Barneys has been sold to Authentic Brands Group for $271.4 million, after several other last-minute rival bidders failed to gain approval. When Authentic takes over, layoffs would reportedly hit staff at Barneys’ two Manhattan stores, its e-commerce unit and back-office facility in Long Island City, its Woodbury Common outlet center and its Fifth Avenue HQ.
But a rep for the fashion chain told Page Six that they are “continuing to work toward a value-maximizing” transaction and that the brand was still up for grabs. Other suitors included a group led by Sam Ben-Avraham.