Frustrated Barneys workers say their liquidating store has devolved into chaos and become a 'free for all' of rampant theft

A men's department worker confirmed rising incidents of theft, noting that in recent weeks as liquidation intensified and discount percentages went up, she's witnessed stealing during an average of two shifts per week.

"People steal a lot because there's not really much security left here, so there's no way to regulate what's going on," she said, adding that as a result of the commission policy shift, "there's no incentive to stop people."

In response to request to comment Wednesday regarding delayed payments and theft in stores, Authentic Brands Group said it is "not in the position" to make a statement, adding that "ABG is the owner of the intellectual property of Barneys and did not purchase the inventory or store leases in the acquisition."

Representatives for B. Riley Financial, the company that has been overseeing the Barneys liquidation and transition process, also declined to comment. Additionally, lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP serving as listed counsel to the debtors in the Barneys bankruptcy proceedings did not return request to comment.

The men's department employee — who has worked for the company for a year and weathered the storm of bankruptcy and acquisition — described communication between Barneys executives and sales associates throughout the process as "horrible."

She and her 7th Avenue peers learned of the sale to Authentic Brands Group and the possibility of losing their jobs via news reports two full days before a company email was sent.

"I think all of us are pretty much over it because we've been through so much in the past year," she said. "We're ready for it to be over at this point."

Further, employees at the 7th Avenue location said there has been no announcement of an official store closure date, other than murmurs from managers that operations will cease on February 15. In the remaining weeks, some have been left to scramble for new jobs, while others bide their time for the end of their Barneys experience.

"It's a struggle, especially the timing, it's awful, the timing is bad," said the four-year employee in men's shoes. "Technically it's still in the holiday season so to try to get a job when [retailers] are only hiring for temp positions or seasonal is hard."

As the employees plan for the future, the Barneys website has officially shuttered. Barneys.com redirects to Saks Fifth Avenue's website, which is now hosting remaining online liquidation sales.

For now, the reputation of the iconic New York retailer, and the future of its remaining employees — and whether or not they'll be paid this week — remains in the balance.

"I'm hopeful [we'll get paid], but not certain," the men's department employee said. "They've thrown us for a loop before so honestly anything could happen tomorrow, or the next day, or next week, we really don't know at this point."