'Monster Cable' Fires Back At Layoffs

Dec. 7 - KGO (KGO) -- Monster Cable is firing back tonight at its critics, calling them grand-standers who failed to check their facts. The fight is over the Brisbane company's plans to outsource jobs, and lay-off workers. San Francisco supervisors blasted monster on Tuesday. Company founders say this is just business in the 21st century.

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick: "The real facts are 120 people laid off and thrown out as if they were yesterday's garbage, not treated with a decent package of severance."

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick lashed out at Monster Cable founder Noel Lee for laying off 120 employees whose jobs are being outsourced.

McGoldrick and seven other supervisors have introduced a resolution supporting the laid off workers. Today, Lee responded by saying to compete in today's economy, he had to outsource the jobs.

Noel Lee: "This is an economic decision we had to make, not because we wanted to make."

Lee says he reluctantly laid off 15 percent of his workforce to save the other 85 percent. Most of them are Asian immigrants who are being paid he says better than other worker in the industry.

Lee charges McGoldrick with grandstanding.

Noel Lee: "He didn't bother to come down, or check the facts, to look at all the things we did for employees before he started lashing out at us."

What's more Lee says he gave laid off workers four weeks severance and lots help.

Noel Lee: "We gave them two months advance notice, we provided counseling, we provided job search facilities."

But more severance is what the laid off workers want.

Polly Lee, Laid Off Worker: "In the past, workers received four weeks of severance pay plus one week a year for service to the company - this week they only received four weeks."

The job search they say, is meaningless because most are older and don't have skills other than they ones they learned at Monster.

Assaulted by San Francisco supervisors, does Noel Lee still want to spend six million dollars for naming rights to the 49ers stadium when the renewal comes up in a year and a half?

Noel Lee: "If the people feel they don't want us to do it, we don't have to."

Supervisors will vote on McGoldrick's resolution next week.

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