Lululemon CEO who fired employees for confronting thieves stands by decision

Lululemon’s CEO said he stands by the decision to fire two employees who flouted the company’s theft policy by bravely confronting thieves during a recent robbery in Georgia.

Employees Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers called police during a robbery in May when three masked men looted their Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, store and took a handful of stock worth $7,000.

They called the police and video footage taken by Rogers, 23, shows Ferguson yelling at the thieves before the pair follow them out of the shop to stop them.

CEO Calvin McDonald denied that Ferguson and Rogers were fired for calling the police, but said tracking and dealing with the robbers was against company rules.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators around being involved in a theft,” McDonald said CNBC. “It’s just merchandise.”

Jennifer Ferguson (left) and Rachel Rogers were reportedly released for trying to stop the thieves and ‘violating the employee handbook policy’ of not interfering in a robbery

McDonald said Lululemon’s policy explicitly states that for the safety of their “educators” and their customers, no one should interfere with attempted robberies.

In the Georgia robbery, the two women were videotaped following the thieves out of the store, in a clear violation of company policy, McDonald said.

In his interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” McDonald claimed the policy is there to keep everyone safe inside and outside the store.

‘Because we put the safety of our team, of our guest first. It’s just merchandise,” he said.

“They’re trained to step back, let the theft happen, know there’s technology and cameras and we’re working with law enforcement,” he added.

The CEO continued that in previous cases they injured employees because they were involved in the robbery and ended up being injured or dying.

And the policy is to protect them. But we have to get behind the policy to enforce it,” he continued.

The company faced backlash in May after news that the two women had been fired was shared by local media, along with video footage of the thieves’ escape.

After they were fired, Ferguson and Rogers told 11Alive that they were aware of the policy but were not given a “specific reason” for their firings.

A Lululemon spokesperson denied the women were fired for calling 911 and said employees are encouraged to contact police during robberies.

Shocking footage shows masked robbers taking merchandise from front displays of Lululemon store in Atlanta before running to their getaway car

The incident happened at the Lululemon store in Peachtree Corners

After the May robbery, Rogers told 11Alive that the store has been a victim of the same group of thieves for weeks, which is why she recorded the incident.

The video showed a masked thief swiping leggings off a front display, while his accomplice, also wearing a mask, holds the door open for him.

An employee is heard to say, “No, no, no, you can march back out,” before the second suspect enters and grabs more items.

Ferguson, then yells, “Seriously. Out! Out!’ as they try to get the thieves to stop before the pair run out of the store to escape.

It is said to be almost ‘the 10th time’ the store has been robbed with no action, so the frustrated women first reported the incident to the police.

They said the thieves would consistently strike about an hour before closing, where they would grab as much merchandise as possible from the racks and tables closest to the door and run to a getaway car.

Jennifer said, “We’re not supposed to get in the way. You kind of pave the way for whatever they’re going to do.”

The video showed a masked thief swiping leggings off a front display, while his accomplice, also wearing a mask, holds the door open for him

The pair of thieves run out of the store and sprint to their getaway car

Lululemon has a policy of not interfering with robberies for the safety of their employees

The firing of the two Lululemon employees comes amid a shocking increase in shoplifting and robbery in the US as employees are told not to intervene.

In May, Lily Oxford, 52, says she and another manager of the Big Lots location in Oildale, California followed a thief who had walked out with 15 cans of Tide laundry detergent in his cart.

The incident took place on April 5 and Oxford – who ran the furniture department – said she and her colleague did not try to stop the thief.

A week after following the customer, she told KGET that she and her colleague were both unemployed in connection with the incident.