This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Board members for the regional grocery giant Market Basket and its suspended chief executive officer will head to mediation at the beginning of September.
Arthur T. Demoulas has been on paid leave since May, when its board of directors hired a law firm to investigate their claims that he had been preparing a work stoppage among employees. That investigation is almost finished, according to a statement by the law firm, Quinn Emanuel, and the two sides will take their dispute to mediators on September 3.
A spokesperson for Demoulas confirmed on Tuesday that talks were heading to mediators “in hopes of avoiding litigation and reaching a quicker and amicable resolution that is in the best interest of Market Basket’s associates, customers and the communities it serves.”
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Tensions erupted between the CEO and the company’s board this spring, nominally because of claims by the board that he was angling to mobilize employees to support him and his vision for the company’s future, including who will succeed the 70-year-old. The board is controlled by Demoulas’ three sisters, who backed him in the battle a decade ago for control of the company between Demoulas and his cousin. Their claims carried echoes of the power struggle from 2014 and Demoulas denied them, calling his suspension a “farcical cover for a hostile takeover.”
Tensions have not eased in the investigation’s ongoing months. Tom Gordon and Joe Schmidt, two longtime executives with the company aligned with Demoulas who were also put on leave in May, were fired last week.
Demoulas rebuked this move, calling board leaders out of touch with the company’s employees and culture.
“These are two of the brightest and best grocery store operators in the business, and their extraordinary work has been key to building this company and its culture,” Demoulas said in a statement last week. “They are just collateral damage in this pre-planned coup.”
Harvey Wolkoff, an attorney speaking on behalf of the investigation, said last week that its results would not be released to the public ahead of mediation.
“It is the hope of the Board that a constructive resolution can be reached,” he said.
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