Did the company tell they employees that they were entitled to vacation? Was it spelled out in their employment contracts? If so, they were in fact “owed” what was promised, which is a lot different from what Dave’s talking about.
Yes, they were entitled to their vacation but not guaranteed as to exactly when they could take it. The product comes first, without that, no one would have a job. If we would have missed our schedule, penalties would be applied and they aren’t cheap.