Charles Morgan fights back
UPDATE - Charles Morgan has issued a statement; read it and the story behind it here
Morgan is fighting back via social media
This all kicked off on Monday when Morgan issued a very short statement declaring that Charles Morgan "is no longer part of the management team or Board of Directors of the company".
In what has turned out to be a PR nightmare for Morgan, Charles instantly responded by retweeting all the messages of support and outrage from Morgan fans to his many followers on the social media website.
Even worse for the company, the tweets of support for Charles seemingly included Morgan employees, who looked to have set up their Twitter account on Tuesday. The first tweet was "the general feel around the factory is we would like @charlesmorganuk back".
Followed by, "We can't believe the company is not being run by a Morgan family member".
Revived 3-Wheeler has been a recent success
"It's fair to say the story is now out of control," we were told by a PR specialist within the car industry, who didn't want to be named. "Given that he was apparently not consulted about the press release, the company must have known that Charles Morgan would go to the mattresses in the way that he has done, particularly on social media."
According to the@mogemplyees account there was little communication with the people who work at the factory. "The truth is the workforce don't know what is going on with the board" a message said yesterday.
Charles's actress wife Kiera also put the boot in, tweeting this morning via @MorganKiera, "Today is the 10 year anniversary of Peter Morgan's death. I hope he can ['t] see the tears of his grandchildren and the unnecessary pain."
Morgan was undergoing a renaissance under the leadership of Charles Morgan and his replacement as managing director earlier this year, long-time employee Steve Morris, and last year almost tripled profits to £1.5 million after producing 1,122 cars.
Fingers crossed they can find an amicable solution to this and get back on track. Meanwhile for Sniff Petrol's take see here.
Statement from Charles Morgan, issued 18/10/13:
As has been widely reported, I have been asked to leave the Morgan Motor Company by the board. It is a sad decision that I am appealing; I remain a major shareholder in Morgan.
I'm proud to say I leave with the company's annual production volumes double what they were at the start of my tenure, with new export markets such as China opened to the company. Morgan remains a small but successful family firm.
I'd like to be clear that I am not a tycoon but a family man - I inherited a company not wealth - and unexpectedly leaving its employment will be a hardship for myself and my family. Being asked to leave the company that bears my name is also extremely personally distressing. That is made more painful as today marks 10 years since my father, Peter Morgan, died and I feel him in spirit with me in this dispute.
However my primary concern is completely for the company I have spent 30 years helping to build, and specifically for Morgan's employees, who I hold in the highest regard. I want nothing but success for Morgan Motor Company in the future and remain committed to this goal.
I am very grateful for the expressions of support received on twitter and elsewhere, particularly from the employees of Morgan.
I will be making no further statements for the time being.
- Charles Morgan
@charlesmorganuk
[Sources: talking to folk, Twitter, Sniff Petrol, Charles Morgan]
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