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Employees a historic UK department store responded to what they assumed was a routine a fire alarm – and wound up getting fired.

Managers at Robbs, a department store in Hexam that’s been open since 1818, claimed using the fire alarm was the most effective way to get all 140 members of staff to gather in one place. Once the staff were assembled, bosses informed them that the shop would be shutting in two weeks.

Robbs is slated to close it’s doors for good on May 12, unless a buyer comes forward. But this is no excuse for the callous nature of handing down the news, say employees. “The way we’ve been treated is appalling,” one worker told the BBC, “And to find out in such a way has infuriated a lot of people.”

Administrators claimed the Robbs management team wanted to inform staff quickly, before news of the shop’s looming closure became public knowledge at the end of the trading day.

Robbs is presently owned by Liverpool-based Owen Owen, who have faced cash flow problems since earlier this spring.