‘Bawling his eyes out’: Ex Porter Davis employee reveals truth behind company’s collapse

A Melbourne woman has revealed the “mind blowing” way she found out that she and her colleagues were out of a job.

Lottie Griffin used to work at Porter Davis. Picture: Instagram / News Corp

A Melbourne woman who was made redundant when failed home builder Porter Davis collapsed, has delivered a rare insight into the company’s “mind blowing” final hours of operation.

In a video to TikTok, Lottie Griffin recounted “from start to finish” how her last day at the job she loved ended with the tragic news Australia’s 12th biggest builder had entered liquidation.

News that Porter Davis had become insolvent broke on March 31, with construction immediately halted on more than 1500 homes in Victoria and an additional 200 in Queensland.

Another 779 contracts had also been signed with construction yet to be commenced.

Hundreds of deposit-paying customers were also out-of-pocket due to the builder’s failure to have Domestic Building Insurance (DBI), however this was later rectified when the Andrews government announced a one-off support payment for affected families.

The former Porter Davis employee started her two-clip series by explaining she’s always wondered what happens to a company when it goes under before revealing she worked for the home builder.

When Ms Griffin arrived at work that fateful morning, she recalled there was “nothing suss” to suggest that she and hundreds of other staff were about to become unemployed.

“We had no inkling that this was going on, and people find that really hard to believe – they’re like, ‘Surely you would have to know,’” she said.

The home builder collapsed on March 31. Picture: Ian Currie

Rather, Ms Griffin went on to explain the staff had earlier been informed there was a “timber shortage” which didn’t spark any red flags.

It was only once the Porter Davis employee approached the building that she sensed something wasn’t right, noting there was a group of “men in suits” at her workplace’s entrance denying staff access.

“I thought it was a crime scene … I thought one of the middle-aged people had a heart attack,” she explained, while comparing the situation to a movie.

After discussing the situation with other confused employees, Ms Griffin admitted a thought had come into the “back of her mind” suggesting her time at the company was up.

Ms Griffin continued her story in a now-deleted second video which delved into how her CEO delivered the emotional news.

She recalled seeing managers in the boardroom “crying” before her CEO informed the remaining staff to attend a meeting on Microsoft Teams.

“The address from the CEO was basically him bawling his eyes out and apologising,” she said.

“It was the grimmest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Lottie Griffin worked for Porter Davis prior to its collapse. Picture: Instagram / @lottiegriffin_

It was in that meeting Ms Griffin learned she had lost her job which she explained was “a great place to work”.

The first video, which received over 50,600 views, was flooded with comments from friends and followers who sympathised with the former Porter Davis employee.

“Aww Lottie! You were our interior designer for our home. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this,” one former client commented.

Meanwhile, one customer whose home was only “a couple weeks away” from being finished, said while they’re now stuck paying rent they felt bad for the workers who lost their jobs.

“Paying rent and almost a full mortgage is a nightmare. I’m sorry you lost your job as well, very sad for the workers,” they commented.

Several other commenters shared how they too had been made redundant after their employer collapsed.

“When the place I worked at went into liquidation, I had just met the new ‘buyers’ a week ago, the government should help you with any owed annual leave,” one person reassured.

“Same thing happened to me! Except we got called into an all staff meeting and found out and had 24 hours. No one except senior management knew a thing,” a second said.

Ms Griffin informed her followers she received her redundancy payout and got “every cent” of superannuation she was owed.

The collapse left hundreds of employees out of work. Picture: Richard Walker

Insolvency group Grant Thornton has since taken over Porter Davis, after being appointed as liquidators for the company on March 31.

Nostra Property Group later entered into an agreement with the liquidators in a bid to finish the construction of 126 Porter Davis townhouses started by the company.

Additionally, 169 yet to be developed townhouses will commence construction using Porter Davis designs and 16 employees of the failed company will be offered ongoing employment with Nostra.

Meanwhile, the failed construction company leaves behind a multimillion dollar debt, owing just shy of $33 million to Commonwealth Bank.

“We have been advised that the total amount owing to the major secured creditor, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), across all entities in the group is $32,939,409,” Grant Thornton said in a document filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

“Our investigations are ongoing to determine if these debts are cross-collateralised across the group.”

An in-depth report into the collapse of Porter Davis by the liquidator is expected to be handed down to the regulator and creditors by June 30.

Originally published as ‘Bawling his eyes out’: Ex Porter Davis employee reveals truth behind company’s collapse