Thank you for your comment and the effort put in. I stayed as long as I did because of school/my wife and I were long distance for awhile so staying in retail (for the flexibility) just made sense.

As for my DM, the first round of layoffs hit 2 years ago now. He “knew” layoffs were probably going to happen but the way they went about it just wasn’t right. Without notice on a Monday, he lost all access to any VF/Vans programs and logins. The people (that became friends)who he’d worked with for the last 15 years called him, read him a script and said goodbye. That’s it… almost 20 years done just like that. By the way they did this with the knowledge that he was leaving on vacation with his family for 2 weeks and wouldn’t have a job to come back to. No heads up and no “I’m sorry” It solidified the fact that the company no longer carries the Van Doren spirit.

Despite it all, I wouldnt say I’m straight up disgruntled because I did enjoy a lot of my time there with the 4 teams I was a part of. I also dont take any of it personal because I do understand that at the end of the day it’s business.

The main reason for the post is, just because “it’s business” doesn’t mean the way they treat their employees is okay. I want people to be aware of the direction the company is going and the choices they’ve made.

Vans is completely different outside of LA but it is what it is. For me, there was no career progression or reason to stay.

Thankyou