Former employees of TransPerfect sent an open letter from Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.The group hopes to enlist Bezos’ support to save TransPerfect as he considers Delaware’s proposal for HQ2.
The group hopes to enlist Bezos’ support to save TransPerfect as he considers Delaware’s proposal for HQ2. The former employees urged Bezos to recognize the risks of considering Delaware as its business climate ranked at an all-time low by the U.S Chamber of Commerce.
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Delaware is considered to be a longshot in gaining the headquarters. Sites in Wilmington, Claymont and north Wilmington were pitched.
The letter was sent after current and former employees saw Senior Vice President, Xavier Fort, and ten-year veteran of TransPerfect, Vice President Matt Hauser, resign from their positions.
Fort was an international member of the technology team and Hauser oversaw all facets of technology sales and marketing. The company has lost their Chief Technology and Chief Information Officers, two Senior Vice Presidents and two Vice Presidents in the last two weeks alone.
Citizens blamed court-appointed Custodian Robert Pincus for the situation.
“Most of that team, many of whom I consider to be close friends, is gone. Based on my discussions with some of them about why they left, I am surprised they stayed in place as long as they did,” said Hauser in his resignation notice. “The lack of respect shown to them by both Liz [Elting] and the Custodian during their employment is shocking to me, especially given what they have all contributed to the overall success of the company.”
The open letter to Bezos took note of Hauser’s sentiments. “We have watched our healthcare premiums rise and our retirement benefits fall as a result of the costs incurred by the court-appointed custodian. The incompetent consultants were duped by a phishing email and now hundreds of employees have had their personal information and social security leaked by the data breach.”
“Some Delaware legislators have attempted to stand up for our company and its employees, but have been at the mercy of the powerful litigation network in Delaware who want to quickly and quietly put this case to bed,” according to the letter.
The authors still see hope for TransPerfect and for Delaware, if Bezos is willing to put pressure on legislators to fix the courts’ miscue. “It is time for Delaware to become business-friendly again.”
The group plans to run newspaper ads in both Delaware and the Seattle area to appeal to Bezos and the Amazon community.
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,200 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others.
