Rocawear Lays Off 28 Employees Day Prior To Blue Ivy’s Birth
While Jay-Z was busy basking in the “glory” of his newborn daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, former employees who one occupied his Rocawear offices in New York City had to find new jobs. The lifestyle clothing brand Hova co-founded laid off half of its staff in the Manhattan office, the day before Beyoncé gave birth to their daughter.
According to the New York State Department of Labor website, the massive firing took place on Jan. 6. A total of 28 workers lost their jobs with Rocawear due to “economic” problems. The company most recently caused a stir for attempting to cash in on the long-running Occupy Wall St. protest, by selling “Occupy All Streets” t-shirts for $22 a pop. “The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement,” a rep for the company told Gawker.com. “Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.”
Amid the controversy, the shirts temporarily disappeared from the company website because they were on back order, but returned once the stock was replenished. While his company may be going through tough economic times, the brand that is Jay-Z continues to get bigger. Hova recently signed on as the spokesperson for Duracell Powermat, and has plans to re-open the flagship location of his newly renovated 40/40 Club at an “invite-only” soiree, Wednesday (Jan. 18).
