Just over 3 months ago, my favorite coworker was fired very abruptly via text message. For having a disability. Yes, it was horribly unprofessional, not to mention illegal. My friend has contacted an attorney, and has already looked at her options. That is not the point of this post.
Said friend/former coworker was very loved by everyone at this small company, and had trained a good number of them. She was a “pillar of the community” so to speak. Considering she had just received accolades for being an incredible employee, it was a shock to everyone when she was fired.
Shortly after my friend was fired, one of my other coworkers put in their notice to go work for a competitor (they have been at the other job for about a month as of writing this post). A week ago, another coworker and I put in our notice and will be gone at the end of the month, working for competitors. Today, a different coworker/friend quit abruptly and with no notice.
We can all see the writing on the wall, and none of us think the way things have been handled is ok. I know several of my coworkers are looking for an out as well.
I don't even feel bad.
ETA: in my line of work, there's no such thing as a non-compete. People bounce from company to company all the time, similar to retail or food service.