NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — Market Basket confirmed on Friday that it has suspended employees at its New Bedford location as a result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

One Market Basket in Massachusetts suspended 47 immigrant employees after conducting an audit of their job applications.

Activists in a Massachusetts city are calling on protection after 47 employees were suspended from a Market Basket.

In a statement, Market Basket board of directors said the terminations came as a result of a recent internal investigation that found the two supervisors engaged in “insubordination, making false and derogatory remarks about the company and people associated with it, and inappropriate communications with colleagues.”

Two Market Basket executives who were fired Tuesday say the move was part of an effort to silence employees who oppose changes the company's board of directors and some shareholders want to make to the company.

Two former top executives at Market Basket and allies of CEO Arthur T. Demoulas spoke out on July 23 about their recent firing.

According to the Market Basket Board of Directors, both Schmidt and Gordon were fired for making false and derogatory remarks about the company and people associated with it, and inappropriate communications with colleagues.

NBC10 Boston has launched a new podcast in partnership with the Boston Business Journal that’s all about Market Basket and the ongoing power struggle at the top of the New England supermarket chain. Food Feud: Market Basket explores long-standing family ...