The night before the layoffs, hundreds of 7-Eleven corporate employees — including “superstars” who’d shined in recent years, newly promoted up-and-comers, and expecting parents — received meeting invites. Some were asked to show up at the “cantina,” an eatery on the ground floor of the company’s headquarters in Irving, Texas.

By the time those workers clocked in on Monday, July 18, it was clear that cuts were underway. Employees paced around the office, crying and commiserating. After arriving at their scheduled cantina appointments, they were ushered into offices usually occupied by the human resources department. There, they faced their managers, HR representatives, and a squad of unfamiliar security guards.

One laid-off employee who lost their job that Tuesday recalled to Insider that their manager said, “Take some deep breaths. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Then, that worker was laid off, along with at least 880 of their colleagues.

The latest news out of 7-Eleven comes at a time when many companies are cutting labor costs through hiring freezes and layoffs after undergoing overly eager expansion during the pandemic.

While the public mostly interacts with store employees on day-to-day pit stops and Slurpee runs, 7-Eleven also employs corporate staff to handle areas like real estate, legal matters, and recruiting franchisees. Insider spoke with three individuals — one current 7-Eleven employee, one laid-off worker, and one laid-off contractor — who each criticized the manner in which the layoffs were conducted, labeling the company’s actions as a “bloodbath” that proved both “sloppy” and unnecessarily “devastating.” Each person has worked with 7-Eleven for many years, and Insider verified each source’s work history.

‘Banner year’ in 2021

These employees say the mass layoffs didn’t seem like a looming threat as recently as last year. 7-Eleven thrived during the pandemic. Shoppers flocked to the company’s delivery services, which doubled in 2021. The Franchise Times even reported on 7-Eleven’s planned foray into the quick-service restaurant space, with its eight new “Evolution” store laboratories. One employee described 2021 as a “banner year” for 7-Eleven, one in which the company paid out 188% of the bonus allowance for eligible employees.

7-Eleven operates and franchises over 13,000 stores in the US and Canada. The chain has been on an acquisition spree, buying gas station company Speedway for $21 billion in 2020 and over 1,000 Sunoco stations in 2017. Employees say the pandemic-era success brought on a “touchy-feely” and community-focused vibe to the work environment.

“Suddenly, 2022 comes around and we’re not making what we budgeted,” a current employee said. “Somebody didn’t forecast right and they thought that the good times were just going to keep rolling.”

Since 7-Eleven is a private company, Insider could not verify comments about business performance.

A spokesperson for 7-Eleven sent a statement to Insider expressing gratitude “for our employees and their dedication to our customers, stores and Franchisees.”

“We are just over a year into our integration process following the $21 billion Speedway acquisition and, as with any integration, our approach included assessing our combined organization structure,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The review was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic but is now complete and reflects roughly equal reductions between the 7-Eleven and Speedway brands. These decisions have not been made lightly, and we are working to support impacted employees, including providing career transition services. We remain committed to treating impacted and non-impacted employees with dignity and respect.”