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About 60 workers were left without salary after the sudden closure of the agency and the responsible entrepreneur admitted by email that management got out of control while former employees discovered that similar situations had happened before with the same manager and the total loss exceeds R$ 1 million.
A digital marketing agency located in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, abruptly ceased operations and left about 60 workers without receiving their salaries. The estimated total loss, including debts with suppliers and service providers, already exceeds R$ 1 million. In light of the default, the workers filed police reports and initiated legal actions to try to recover the amounts owed.
The closure took everyone by surprise. The entrepreneur responsible for the agency, Marcus Calixto, communicated the closure through an email sent to one of the employees. According to information from the portal ndmais, in the message, he admitted that the management of the company got out of control and defined the internal scenario as “a big mess.” For the workers who depended on these salaries to pay bills, rent, and food, the message was the beginning of a nightmare that is still far from over.
What workers discovered after the agency closure
After the doors were closed, the former employees did something that no HR department did for them: they investigated the manager’s history on their own.
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The internal survey revealed that similar situations had previously occurred with the same entrepreneur which means that the workers of the Santos agency may not be the first victims of this pattern.
The accumulated debt amount grows as new workers report the lack of payments. In addition to the approximately 60 workers directly affected, suppliers and service providers were also harmed by the sudden closure, raising the total amount beyond the initially estimated R$ 1 million.
The case exposes a vulnerability that particularly affects digital marketing professionals, a sector where informal contracts and remote work often leave workers without the guarantees that labor legislation provides.
What the entrepreneur said about the default on workers
Marcus Calixto, responsible for the agency, stated that there was a failure in attracting foreign resources that culminated in the breakdown of operations.
According to him, the company depended on external investments that did not materialize, and without this funding, the operation became unsustainable. The entrepreneur also stated that he intends to resolve the financial issues with the workers.
However, the declaration of intent does not come with any concrete payment plan, and the workers are not willing to wait.
The email in which Calixto admitted that management “got out of control” is being used as part of the evidence in labor lawsuits, as the confession of mismanagement may strengthen the requests for indirect termination and full payment of the amounts owed. While the entrepreneur talks about intention, the workers talk about justice.
What workers can do when the company closes and does not pay
The case of the Santos agency serves as a warning for all workers in similar situations. The first recommendation is to regularly monitor the FGTS deposit through the app and keep track of the company’s CNPJ status with the Federal Revenue.
If the employer stops depositing FGTS or if the CNPJ shows irregularities, these are signs that something is wrong and the sooner the worker acts, the greater the chances of recovering amounts.
When the company closes without paying, workers can file for indirect termination in the Labor Court.
This mechanism works as a kind of “just cause” applied by the employee against the employer, allowing the termination of the bond with the right to all severance payments: salary balance, proportional vacation, 13th salary, 40% fine on the FGTS, and unemployment insurance. It is the legal instrument that protects workers when the employer seriously fails to meet their obligations.
The repeating pattern and what workers need to watch
The fact that former employees found indications that the same manager had acted similarly before raises a broader question.
In the digital marketing market, where agencies open and close rapidly and many workers operate as self-employed or under informal contracts, the risk of default is structurally higher than in traditional sectors.
Workers are exposed because they often do not have access to the company’s financial information until it is too late.
For the approximately 60 workers of the Santos agency, the fight now is legal. Police reports have been filed, labor actions are underway, and the case is gaining visibility in the media.
The outcome will depend on whether the Justice can locate the entrepreneur’s assets and resources to reimburse the workers, something that is not always simple when the company has already closed its doors and the responsible party claims that they cannot pay. The R$ 1 million in debts is real. The suffering of the workers who were left without salary is too.
Have you ever gone through a similar situation where the company closed without paying? What do you think should be done to protect workers from this type of default?
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