NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — SmileDirectClub has shut down operations, and it has impacted hundreds of people around the world who've lost their jobs.
Melissa Malingowski worked at SmileDirectClub for nearly six years. The company marketed their dental aligners as a faster and more affordable alternative to braces.
Watch Alexandra and Melissa talk in the player above.
“Essentially my job was to get customer files to the 3D printers to eventually become liners," Malingowski said.
But on Dec. 8, her world was flipped upside down.
"About 12:30 p.m., they pulled us all to the floor and were like: 'Hey, we’re closing operations like, immediately. Everybody go home,'" Malingowski said.
There was a lot of confusion.
"I was balling. I lost it. We also found out later that they had originally wanted us to continue working through the end of the day. People just lost their livelihoods, and you want us to continue making a product that isn’t going to go anywhere?" Malingowski said.
She feels it was handled poorly.
"For me, they said effective immediately — this is your last paid day, and we were supposed to get paid at the end of December, and I can’t pay my rent in two weeks,” Malingowski said.
She's looking for a new job.
“Just to know that all these people I care about have no plan. We were just left in a lurch,” Malingowski said.
SmileDirectClub filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
"Honestly, they made it sound like we were going to be fine. We were restructuring everything. W would be good. We were literally told business as usual," Malingowski said.
There's a lot of confusion regarding their benefits too.
"And with the sudden closure, some of us have 401ks, and we don’t have access to them," Malingowski said.
Still a lot of unanswered questions.
"It’s been an emotional roller coaster," Malingowski said.
The impact on consumers is a different story. According to a website posting, SmilePay customers should still make their monthly payments. But the Lifetime Smile Guarantee no longer exists. They also note that more information will be released later regarding refunds once the bankruptcy process determines their next steps.
“And customers are expected to continue paying, but we’re not producing a product, so my heart definitely goes out to not just us but the customers as well," Malingowski said.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
