Ransomware-stricken firm tells laid-off employees to seek new jobs amid stymied recovery efforts

The Heritage Company, a telemarketing firm that laid off 300 employees just days before Christmas after a devastating cyber-attack, has now advised the former employees to look for new jobs as the company can”t seem to recover.

Two months ago, Arkansas-based The Heritage Company suffered a ransomware attack but kept it secret as it worked to restore the data. In a letter to employees, CEO Sandra Franecke admitted the company paid hackers the ransom in exchange for the decryption keys. However, recovery didn”t go as planned and the firm ended up losing “hundreds of thousands” of dollars.

As the company could no longer pay employees, Franecke made the tough decision to let everyone go just days before Christmas. In an apologetic letter, she instructed employees to check back on January 2 to see if they can get their jobs back. Local news station KATV confirms that employees calling in for an update were greeted by a recorded message informing them that they should seek new jobs.

The Heritage Company also issued a formal statement to employees, saying, “Hello Team Heritage. We have been working diligently over the past two weeks to reorganize in an effort to recover from the cyber incident. Though we have made progress, there is still much work to be done. With that in mind, we do not prevent you from searching for other employment. Please take care of yourselves, your loved ones, and have a happy New Year.”