Daniel Defense lays off employees

Bummer. Tough market right now.
 
Feel for those folks who are now out of a job, best of luck to them and their families
 
Bailey Boat said:
Not sure about GA, but in most states a non compete is worthless unless compensation has been changed hands.
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It's a condition of employment. They don't have to give you money on the way out the door. Courts have held that they are valid as long as they are not too broadly worded nor last too long. They are common in just about all industries, including mine. My doctor left the group where he practiced, and had to work two counties away for two years. My friend's son worked for a guy who replaced auto window glass. He left and tried to steal his former bosses' clients until his former employer reminded him (via an attorney) of his non-compete.

Imagine you are the guy who has built your business, one client at a time, investing heavily in client relationships and advertising. You brought in help and taught them how the business works, trade secrets, and gave them the list of clients. That's valuable property and you should be able to protect it against someone else stealing it, regardless of the circumstances under which they left.
 
Non competes aren't done as you leave, they are normally done at the beginning of employment. In NC, FL and CA they have no enforceable provisions UNLESS there has been compensation paid for it.
If someone signs a non compete without compensation and was told by an employer that it has no value, their a fool.
I have had as high as 11 non competes in effect at one time for which I charge 10K each and burn off no later than 18 months after separation. So I have dealt with the laws surrounding them quite a bit.....
 
I wonder if the people laid off worked in South Carolina and I did not want to pay to relocate them to Georgia?

Just because they asked them to sign a non-compete when they fired them with no severance why would they have to sign it? They could just tell them to go and tear it up into little pieces of paper and wipe their butt with them they're already fired.
 
@Bailey Boat is correct. Unless you are being paid specifically for a non compete, it is no good.
 
mulletmaster said:
Just because they asked them to sign a non-compete when they fired them with no severance why would they have to sign it? They could just tell them to go and tear it up into little pieces of paper and wipe their butt with them they're already fired.
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That's why their done at the beginning of employment, not at the end..
 
noway2 said:
They also are not permitted to keep you from being able to earn a living.
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Exactly. No non-compete could be binding on me as I am in a niche market and any non-compete would prevent me from working in my field.
I have a 'non-compete' with my current employer but it only applies to China. Like I give a crap about that. Ha!
 
As with all legal matters, the devil is in the details. There are circumstances where everything said about a non compete in this thread is incorrect, may have been correct in a specific set of circumstances and a certain time, but that’s all.

Fwiw, the article does not say that the employees signed an agreement at termation, it actually reads as though they signed it when they were hired. Unlikely to be any successful claims about it being unenforceable due to lack of consideration.
 
SilencerCo just laid off a good bit of folks as well. Hard to imagine why the way products are selling. Market is too competitive I guess and too much focus price.
 
Gun manufacturing is such a niche craft I imagine it would be difficult to sign a non-compete and find a decent job when you are laid off....

As far as DD, almost all AR prices have dropped--you can get a Colt 6920 for $700--but some of the upper-tier manufacturers have not changed their prices. I am curious about their financials...how many produced by year vs sold. KAC has government contracts, Noveske has a leg in competition shooting, I wonder what's going on with DD?
 
Bailey Boat said:
That's why their done at the beginning of employment, not at the end..
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I faced an interesting situation. After several years of employment in senior management, the company decided to require non-competes from all white collar employees. I thought about it and decided to gamble. I supposed that I was doing a good job and could eventually find new employment if necessary. When they brought the document to my office, I told them "No" and I could see the shock on their faces. Apparently I was the only one to decline and they kept that a secret lest others also rebel. Years later, a headhunter contacted me and placed me with a competitor at nearly double my previous salary.

Stupid if they don't make the non-compete a condition of employment at the beginning of the relationship, regardless of whether it might be enforceable or not.
 
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VA_GENTLEMAN said:
Unfortunate... new factory = High Overhead = Fixed Costs....
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Chuckman said:
Gun manufacturing is such a niche craft I imagine it would be difficult to sign a non-compete and find a decent job when you are laid off....

As far as DD, almost all AR prices have dropped--you can get a Colt 6920 for $700--but some of the upper-tier manufacturers have not changed their prices. I am curious about their financials...how many produced by year vs sold. KAC has government contracts, Noveske has a leg in competition shooting, I wonder what's going on with DD?
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I bet they're regretting their Nascar Sponsorship right now. That probably added up to serious $.
 
NKD said:
Bummer. Tough market right now.
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This is it, flooded market, nobody buying ARs as of last week. Sadly the LV event may help the market a little.

Everyone that was booming in 2011-12, hired people, bought extra space and machines to keep up is now lacking the sales to sustain.
 
346ci said:
This is it, flooded market, nobody buying ARs as of last week. Sadly the LV event may help the market a little.

Everyone that was booming in 2011-12, hired people, bought extra space and machines to keep up is now lacking the sales to sustain.
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Yeah, flooded Market, Colt prices going down, BCM going down. Hard to justify a Daniel Defense when you can buy two colts for the same price. There is a glut in the market.
 
Check the thread on M4C. There is an employee who was laid off from DD giving some feedback.
 
The AR market is so soft because of the mass buying over the last few years. I would not surprise me to see a lot of companies scaling back production and workforce. It sucks for the people involved. As to the non-compete they often do not hold up in court when challenged. People have the right to make a living. As others have point out they are really only upheld when there is payment or compensation but IIRC courts have ruled that "training" can constitute payment. So a company can ask that the employee pay back any funds used to pay for their training which they are now taking somewhere else.
 
The AR market is going through an adjustment just like the housing market did. The market has become flooded because everyone was cranking them planning on the presumed election results. Distributors and dealers are sitting on a bunch of inventory and this inventory has all but stopped selling.
 
Geezer said:
The AR market is going through an adjustment just like the housing market did. The market has become flooded because everyone was cranking them planning on the presumed election results. Distributors and dealers are sitting on a bunch of inventory and this inventory has all but stopped selling.
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Yup which makes it an excellent time to buy. You can get factory build serviceable carbines with lifetime warranties for under $475 OTD.
 
Is it time for me to finally buy an AR or should I wait? o_O
 
Geezer said:
@Bailey Boat is correct. Unless you are being paid specifically for a non compete, it is no good.
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I've been laid off a few times in my life and always had non-competes in place at the beginning of employment. Not withstanding the legal stuff, typically I understood it that if I left on my own, they'd go after me for the non-compete if I went to work for a competitor. But, if it was their decision to terminate my employment, then they wouldn't bother to go after anyone with a non-compete. It's just not worth all the legal hassle and lawyer fees, even if they had the legal right to do so. Now, if you were taking secrets and tradecraft to a competitor, then I guess it would be a different situation.
 
stickman61 said:
I bet they're regretting their Nascar Sponsorship right now. That probably added up to serious $.
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About 15 yrs ago the company I worked for was the prime sponsor for Kenny Wallace's race car. I think we stopped when it reached 10M$/yr.
 
drypowder said:
Actually I would guess a lot of people who held off hoping for legalization will now go ahead with Form 4's.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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I’m thinking...it’s trust time.
 
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