Dive Brief:

• SQRL Holdings has laid off between 30 and 40 corporate, full-time employees over the past month, according to two former district managers who were part of convenience store chain’s layoffs.
• Blake Smith, CEO and founder of SQRL, confirmed that the company is undergoing layoffs, but declined to comment on the number of employees affected or the timeline of their departures.  
• "As we transition to an operator model, onboard recently acquired stores, and change local management, there are of course transitions,” Smith said in an emailed statement. “We are in the process of overhauling the operating model of SQRL, and what you are seeing is part of that process."

Dive Insight:

Several of the impacted SQRL team members formerly worked for bankrupt retailer Mountain Express Oil and were let go during that company’s liquidation process last August.

According to one of the former SQRL employees, several team members who were let go amid Mountain Express’ bankruptcy joined SQRL late last year after SQRL acquired 210 c-stores from Blue Owl Capital, which had previously leased those locations to Mountain Express. Several former Mountain Express staffers have noted in their LinkedIn bios that they joined SQRL late last year.

Less than two months after joining SQRL, many of those former employees have now been let go once again.

One former employee said he was part of a group of 18 that was terminated from SQRL in late December. He said that over the following weeks, about 10 to 15 more people were laid off from the company. 

This team member’s experience aligns with how the other district manager was let go in late January, according to that employee’s letter of termination, which C-Store Dive obtained a copy of. In that letter — sent from Magen Burch, human resources director at SQRL — there is no mention of any reason for the employee’s termination.

“We understand that this is a difficult time and we want to assure you that we are committed to treating you with dignity and respect during this process,” the termination email read. “We thank you for your service to SQRL Holdings and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”

C-Store Dive sent along details of the layoffs outlined by the two sources to a company spokesperson, who declined to comment.

Although Smith declined to say more about the number of employees affected or when the layoffs have occurred, he noted that the layoffs are a result of SQRL switching local store management for its locations as adjusts its operating model while integrating its new stores. The October acquisition from Blue Owl Capital nearly tripled the size of SQRL’s store holdings.

As the c-store retailer continues to integrate new stores, “there have been new hires and some layoffs depending on locations that do better than others,” Smith said in an emailed statement.

"As we change the model of our business, we change the way we do business,” Smith said. “As we turn stores over to an operator, turnover is unfortunately inevitable.”

Little Rock, Arkansas-based SQRL Holdings operates more than 350 convenience stores across 14 states.