The CEO of a family-run New England grocery chain has been fired by the company’s board of directors following a months-long power struggle and a probe into allegations that he was secretly planning a work stoppage. The Market Basket board filed a 35-page complaint in court on Tuesday, describing CEO Arthur T. Demoulas as a “dictator” whose leadership threatened the company’s long-term stability, Business Insider reported.
“Mr Demoulas forced the Board to choose between accepting his autocratic control of Market Basket or terminating him,” the complaint read. The board accused him of ignoring directives, withholding basic company information, and daring the board to fire him — allegedly banking on a repeat of the 2014 employee walkout that followed his earlier ouster.
In 2014, Demoulas was fired from his CEO role following a family dispute. The incident triggered a workers' protest, and Demoulas was reinstated after he purchased the rival family faction's $1.5 billion majority stake in the Market Basket.
In its complaint, the board further stated that despite being a minority shareholder and owning 28.4 percent of the company, Demoulas “acted as if he were the sole owner”. His sisters collectively own 61.3 percent of the company, with 10.3 percent held in a trust for the fourteen children of the four Demoulas siblings.
Failed mediation, contested termination
Board chair Jay Hachigian confirmed that the decision followed a failed mediation last week. “Despite extensive efforts by the Board and Mr Demoulas to come to terms, the mediation was not successful,” he told Business Insider. Demoulas contests the termination, according to the board’s filing.
Two executives described as Demoulas’ “lieutenants” — Joseph Schmidt and Tom Gordon — were fired in July and barred from Market Basket’s 90 stores under a court order.
The board is now seeking a court declaration that Demoulas’ termination was valid.
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