BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Bitwise Industries, a tech company that looks to train people in underserved communities, has furloughed more than 900 employees across the U.S. this week including the team in Buffalo.
"Honestly my question would be why," explained Monica McCutcheon, of Buffalo.
The single mother of four said she woke up Monday to news that she was furloughed from Bitwise Buffalo. This is after her paycheck bounced on Friday.
McCutcheon said Bitwise owes her around $5,000, which includes empty contributions by the company to her 401k.
"Now I have to apply for food stamps, because my bank account got $42," said McCutcheon who moved into a new house a few days ago and has rent to pay.
Her coworker Andre Nunn, Director of Bitwise Buffalo, said he was also furloughed on Monday out of the blue. The single father of three is also owed around $5,000 from bounced paychecks, and 401k contributions.
"It's not that I hate the company, it's that I hate what they did to us," said Nunn.
Nunn and McCutcheon were both hired in 2021 with a passion to help people in Buffalo get jobs.
"The mission that they pitched was amazing," said Nunn. "The mission was to reach the underdogs, the underestimated."
The company gave high hopes to East Buffalo, which has gone through tragedy after tragedy, from the May 2022 mass shooting to the devastating deadly blizzard in December.
"We have had enough," said McCutcheon.
Both feel they were misled by the California-based company.
"We promised 80-something people tech training," said McCutcheon. "The whole objective was to help so we don’t have to be struggling in our community. That was the whole mission, and it's been robbed of us."
Nunn said there were red flags by the company, he said four checks bounced in the last two years. Nunn said another red flag was a switch from direct deposit to physical paychecks recently.
Nunn also said Bitwise Buffalo's apprentice program failed.
"An apprentice is there learning, they get certified, get paid and work for us, said Nunn. He said apprentices then go to another company, but that never happened.
"We haven’t had 1 apprentice, we've had people sign up for our classes, and quit," said Nunn.
Bitwise's website still says the Buffalo location is "Coming soon."
The company did not answer an email from 7 News Reporter Michael Schwartz.
According to 7News affiliate ABC30 in Fresno, CA, Fresno's Mayor said Bitwise didn't pay city business taxes since September 2021.
Bitwise Buffalo was set to move into 368 Sycamore Street, a building owned by Douglas Development Corp.
Douglas Development's founder Douglas Jemal told Schwartz the building will now be a "cool residential building." Jemal added, "Bitwise was not wise."
Douglas Development's Director of Residential Samantha Soltis said she's excited about the challenge.
When Bitwise came to Buffalo in 2021, multiple notable companies assisted financially. That includes Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, which said:
“We are in the process of learning more about the situation. We hope that this is a temporary setback for Bitwise and we remain committed to providing equitable access to skilled workforce training opportunities in our community.”
