RadioShack sacked 400 workers at its Fort Worth headquarters on Tuesday morning via an email, which stated: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

According to The Atlanta Journal-Consitution, company officials "had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically". Spokeswoman Kay Jackson said "employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday's notification on a company intranet site".

Derrick D'Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, told the paper that the e-boot "could be seen as dehumanising to employees", adding: "If I put myself in their shoes, I'd say, 'Didn't they have a few minutes to tell me?'"

Sacked workers will receive "one to three weeks pay for each year of service".

RadioShack shares rose 29 cents (1.6 per cent) on Wednesday, closing at $18.21 on the New York Stock Exchange. ®

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