A new lawsuit claims that the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul knowingly sold 1 million contaminated Juul pods, according to a statement made by the plaintiff, Juul’s former senior vice president.
Former Juul senior VP Siddharth Breja says that his termination in March was the direct result of him raising concerns about contaminated Juul pods that the company allegedly sold. Breja claims that 1 million Juul pods sold to customers and retailers were contaminated, and Juul was fully aware of the tainted pods.
In his complaint, Breja specifically states that he raised concerns with senior management about Juul selling expired products. Breja also claims to have raised the issue with Juul’s mint refill kits, which he alleges were contaminated.
Breja says that the company execs were aware and unconcerned with his concerns.
According to the lawsuit, Juul’s CEO Kevin Burns, who has since been replaced, responded to Breja’s concerns stating, “Half our customers are drunk and vaping like mo-fo’s, who the f*** is going to notice the quality of our pods?”
In response to Breja’s lawsuit, Juul said, “Mr. Breja’s claims are baseless. He was terminated in March 2019 because he failed to demonstrate the leadership qualities needed in his role. The allegations concerning safety issues with Juul products are equally meritless, and we already investigated the underlying manufacturing issue and determined the product met all applicable specifications. The company will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”
Juul Names CFO as Company Continues to Replace Top Execs
October 29, 2019- As legal and legislative pressure mounts, a number of top executives from Juul are parting ways the e-cigarette company. Chief Administrative Officer Ashley Gould and Chief Financial Officer Tim Danaher have both recently left, leaving a void for newly named CEO K.C. Crosthwaite to fill.
Crosthwaite has named Guy Cartwright to take the place of Danaher as Juul’s CFO. Cartwright came into the company in July as the transformation and operations officer.
Juul has not announced what the company plans to do with the CAO position previously held by Gould.
Chief Marketing Officer, Craig Brommers, and senior vice president of advanced technologies, David Foster, have both also recently left Juul. Both were more recent additions to the executive staff.
Juul announced that it plans to cut the CMO position, while it remains unclear what the company plans to do with Foster’s senior vice president of advanced technologies position.
These management moves were announced via a company-wide email.
Juul announced earlier this month that it plans to lay off 500 employees, or 10-15% of staff, before the end of the year.
Juul Suspends All Sales of Flavored Pods
October 18, 2019 – Juul announced on Thursday that it would suspend all of its flavored pod sales, barring menthol and tobacco. This announcement comes as Juul continues to take heavy fire from mounting lawsuits paralleled with a decline in public trust of the company’s product safety claims.
Juul has faced scrutiny for its marketing tactics, with some lawmakers arguing that the e-cigarette behemoth purposely targeted the youth market in order to create a new generation of nicotine users.
Juul stated that their announcement to suspend the sale of flavors is an effort to regain public confidence.
“We must reset the vapor category by earning the trust of society and working cooperatively with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders to combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers,” Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a statement.
This is one of the first major decisions for Crosthwaite during his short tenure as Juul CEO. Crosthwaite, the former Chief Growth Officer at Altria and CEO/president of Philip Morris, took over the role of CEO from Juul co-founder Kevin Burns following the September announcement that Juul would be suspending all advertising and lobbying efforts.
The flavored pods’ sales that will be suspended.
