Coquitlam-headquartered Williams Moving & Storage closed up shop suddenly following a Wednesday afternoon meeting and conference call where they informed employees the company would be filing under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
A notice posted on the Unifor Local 114 blog said the 3 p.m. meeting and call brought together all its B.C. and Alberta employees where they were informed the company wasn't making money and that it would close with all its assets to be put up for auction.
According to the notice, the company said it "has been trading unprofitably for a period of time and has not been able to restructure appropriately in the current economic and competitive environment," and that trade and operations would cease as of Wednesday.
Callers to the company's Coquitlam office are greeted by a voice message informing them that Williams is filing a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and that the restructuring division of accounting firm Deloitte would be appointed as its trustee.
In the union notice, Unifor said a filing under the insolvency act should invoke the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, which grants priority to its members for the first $3,000 that they are owed in wages and vacation pay, but the notice said all employees would likely be shorted their last paycheques and banked hours.
However, the shutdown does not affect Williams Moving & Storage outlets in Cranbrook and Lethbridge, according to a post to the Facebook page for those locations.
A call from The Citizen to Unifor, the union representing the employees at the Prince George location of Williams Moving & Storage, was not returned Thursday.
