| Translate This News In |
|---|
Gustavo Arnal, CFO of Bed Bath & Beyond, committed suicide by jumping from the 18th floor of the ‘Jenga’ tower in Manhattan. The incident occurred just days after Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to close stores and lay off employees in an effort to turn around its troubled business.
On Sunday, the company announced Arnal’s death. According to reports, calls about the jump began around 12.30 p.m. on September 2nd, according to a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson. The 52-year-old was found unconscious and injured, according to the New York City Police Department.
Arnal died last Friday, according to the company. He was pronounced dead on the scene, and the cause of death will be determined by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. Arnal’s death was ruled a suicide by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, according to The New York Times.
Arnal began working for the organisation in May 2020 after previously holding positions with Avon, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Procter & Gamble. “Gustavo’s leadership, talent, and care of our Company will be remembered by those who worked with him,” said one coworker. Harriet Edelman, the independent chair of the company’s board, said in a statement released on Sunday, “I am pleased to have been his colleague, and he will be sorely missed by all of us at Bed Bath & Beyond and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Bed Bath & Beyond has recently encountered difficulties: Its stock rose from $5.77 to $23.08 in just over two weeks in August, eerily similar to last year’s meme-stock craze, when out-of-favor companies became darlings of smaller-pocketed investors. The Union, New Jersey-based home goods retailer announced that it will close approximately 150 of its namesake stores and reduce its workforce by 20%.
