Why was "Artie T" fired from Market Basket? Here's the history of the Demoulas family drama.
The Market Basket board of directors said Wednesday that it has fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas after months of a very public battle for control of the Massachusetts-based supermarket chain. But the drama involving the popular grocery store executive known as "Artie T" and his family has been going on long before that.
Demoulas family members have been sparring in court since the 1990s, when a judge awarded majority ownership to Arthur T. Demoulas' cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. The board wrote in a legal filing Tuesday that the judge found at the time that Arthur T. "had taken corporate opportunities and engaged in self-dealing transactions to the detriment of the Arthur S. family."
Even so, Arthur T. Demoulas was named president and CEO in 2008. Under his leadership, the company continued to expand from Cape Cod to Maine. But six years later, he would be ousted from his position by his family for the first time.
The Market Basket boycott of 2014
The long family dispute boiled over in 2014 when the board controlled by Arthur S. Demoulas fired Arthur T. What followed was an unprecedented reaction from employees and shoppers.
Thousands of employees walked off the job to support "Artie T," and customers boycotted Market Basket stores. Supermarket shelves went bare as many truck drivers refused to make deliveries.
After weeks of protests that cost the company millions, Arthur T. Demoulas and his three sisters reached a deal to buy Market Basket from his cousin's side of the family for $1.6 billion.
What's happening with Market Basket and Arthur T. Demoulas now?
But the family feud did not end there. The Market Basket board of directors, now controlled by the Demoulas sisters, suspended Arthur T. Demoulas on May 28 "for planning a work stoppage in retaliation for requests from the board for basic collaboration and oversight." Demoulas said in response that the investigation was "a farcical cover for a hostile takeover."
The board has alleged that Demoulas was a "dictator" who did not give them financial information they were seeking or work with them on a succession plan.
"The Plaintiff Directors repeatedly tried to work with Mr. Demoulas for years to gain his cooperation," the board's newest legal filing says. "Mr. Demoulas would have none of it."
Other executives loyal to Demoulas have been fired and served with restraining orders to stay away from Market Basket. The last Demoulas supporter on the board was removed last month.
Both sides said they hoped recent mediation talks would be "successful," but it ended with the board firing Demoulas. Still, Demoulas has indicated he's not ready to give up his fight to return to the top job at Market Basket.
"Throughout this ordeal, Mr. Demoulas has remained committed to his single goal – to return to Market Basket to work alongside the 32,000 Associates," a spokesperson for Demoulas said in a statement. "That has been his sole focus since the unwarranted actions of May 28 and remains his focus today."