American Apparel Online News: Dov Charney, Company CEO and Founder, Ousted Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations
The once-popular American-made clothing company has fired its founder and CEO, Dov Charney, following years of sexual harassment allegations.
American Apparel's board voted unanimously in a 5-0 decision to oust Charney and replace him with other men in the company's administration. The decision comes after years of sexual harassment allegations against Charney by various female employees. One female employee in 2011 accused him of making her his sex slave because she feared losing her job, according to Reuters.
The board had launched an investigation earlier this year into the various allegations after "new information came to light," not wanting to act without proof and only following rumors. Charney was informed of their decision and was removed from his post immediately; however, due to a clause in his employment contract, the board must wait 30 days before officially terminating him.
"This is not easy, but we felt the need to do what we did for the sake of the company," Allan Mayer, the company's newly appointed co-chairman, told The Los Angeles Times. The decision "was not the result of any problems with the company's operations."
Along with Mayer, David Danzinger was co-chairman. The board also named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Luttrell interim CEO.
Charney, 45, was born in Montreal and began American Apparel while attending Tufts University in 1997. The company entered the retail business in 2003 but has recently not been doing well. In 2013, the company reported a net loss of $106.3 million, which was a huge increase from losses reported in 2012, $37.3 million. Its increasing economic bad luck may mean that the company could default under its credit agreements. To remedy the problem, it announced in March that it would sell $30.5 million worth of stock to make its debt payments.
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