As Toys "R" Us Closes For Good, Workers Campaign For Severance

(CBS News) - As the last of the Toys "R" Us stores readied for final closure this week, workers including store managers with the company for decades decried their plight. They're saying they shouldn't be left empty-handed.

The campaign for severance continued until the end, with employees expressing their views in varying ways while working final shifts at some 700 stores across the country.

Advocates say 33,000 Toys "R" Us workers should be entitled to $75 million in severance to help pay the bills while they look for look for another job.

After declaring bankruptcy in September, the chain in March sought a bankruptcy court's approval to start closing its 735 U.S. stores, with severance payments coming to a halt during the liquidation. Days before filing for bankruptcy, Toys "R" Us executives drew millions in bonuses, a scenario that didn't sit well with rank-and-file workers.

When the retailer eliminated positions in the past, severance was always paid, store manager Tracy Forbes told CBS MoneyWatch in May. Forbes, who started with the company in 1987, said she would continue to work until her store in Phoenix, Arizona, closes for good this week.

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