Reverend Francis Cook was employed by Bentley for the past 10 years. Once a week, he visited the VW Group-owned luxury automaker’s factory in Crewe, England, and chatted to its employees, run Christian courses and written messages in the company’s newsletters.
Just a few days before Christmas (…), he was told that his services were no longer required and he should vacate the premises.
“The reason I have been given is that there are too many people of different faiths to warrant a Christian chaplain”, Cooke told UK daily newspaper The Mirror. “There have been no complaints made against me and my position is to help people, and not just those who are Christians.”
Bentley responded with the following statement: “We have a wide range of faiths and want to take a multi-faith outlook. It would be very difficult to have somebody from each faith.”
The Crewe staff has launched a campaign, petitioning for the chaplain to be reinstated. “Everyone is really angry about it as a few of us have been on courses with him”, one worker told the newspaper. “To do this just before Christmas is shocking.”
The reverend commented that he’s “not angry, but more upset because I am very fond of the workers and they trusted me.”
Care to comment about Bentley’s decision to axe the company chaplain over fears he might offend the multi-faith workforce at Crewe? Head over the jump and voice your thoughts.
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