I wonder some of those things too. As far as we know they did lose their jobs (according to the one employee who has posted here). I think it is very likely that people will get the animals they have paid for, but there will unquestionably be a delay.
This isn't how I would have handled things in Ben's shoes, but he's been under a lot of pressure. He had a customer die during a roach-eating contest earlier this year, and another customer take advantage of him by paying $100 for an animal worth $1000, and then never paying the rest.
And as others have mentioned, relationships can affect you deeply.
My personal opinion is that Ben is having a bit of a meltdown. He might change his mind about firing people at a later time, and he might not. I believe he will follow through with any purchases that have been made, but I personally would not purchase from him until all of this has calmed down. There's no telling how long the delay will be for those that have already paid for their animals.