Burger King lays off 400

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MIAMI -- Hundreds of South Florida Burger King employees learned Monday that they have lost their jobs.

Burger King Corp. said it has reduced its staff in North America and Latin America by 413 positions, 261 of which were in South Florida. That is 8.8 percent of the company's South Florida workforce.

The company recently was sold to 3G Capital of Brazil for $3.25 billion. Burger King representatives said the layoffs were part of the company's organizational restructuring.

There were plenty of grim-faced people with boxes of belongings in the back seats of their cars leaving the company's South Florida headquarters Monday.

"They are basically gutting the company," said laid-off employee Rich Calhoon. "It is going to become a cash machine for the bazillion-billionaires that bought it, so it is what it is."

"What is the atmosphere like in the building?" Local 10's Todd Tongen asked.

"Horrible," Calhoon said. "It is like a death camp."

Police were at the property Monday in case fired employees got out of hand, but most were just stunned by the news.

"We were told to clean our desks, and we were shocked," said Arlene Ramos, who was laid off after 12 years with the company. "There were a lot of people that were not expecting this, from all levels."

Burger King has more than 12,200 restaurants in 73 countries, but more than 90 percent are privately owned and operated franchises, so the 38,000-plus employees who work in the restaurants will not be affected by the cuts.

Fired employees told Local 10 that they did receive a fair severance package, but with unemployment numbers so high, they fear they might not find a job for some time.
 
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