The coronavirus pandemic has taken more than 2,500 lives and shattered the livelihood of millions in America, and conditions are only expected to get worse. A record 3.3 million workers applied for unemployment as of last week, according to The Washington Post. The Economic Policy Institute predicted earlier this month that the virus would "likely claim" 3 million jobs by the summer. Even with a $2 trillion stimulus package signed into law Friday, economic experts predict it may not be enough to salvage an American economy poised for a recession.
“During the Great Recession, a lack of federal aid to state and local governments led to slashed budgets, severely hampering the economic recovery,” the Economic Policy Institute tweeted Monday. “Congress must go beyond the CARES Act and further bolster state and local aid during the #coronavirus shock." Until then, American jobs hang in the balance. Here’s our list of companies that have already announced furloughs.
Media company Gannett plans to furlough its employees in a three-month time frame, requiring those who make more than $38,000 a year at the chain's 100 newspapers to take one week off in April, May, and June, according to The Washington Post. And that pales in comparison to the indefinite cuts retail and food industry workers face.
Kohl’s plans to furlough about 85,000 of its workers, the company announced Monday. About 122,000 people are employed at the retail chain. Kohl’s chief executive officer Michelle Gass will not take a salary at this time, the company announced in a news release. “It is an incredibly difficult decision to extend our store closures and temporarily furlough some of our associates,” Gass said. “We look forward to the day that we can reopen our stores to welcome our associates back and serve the millions of families across the country that shop Kohl’s.”
Macy's is planning to furlough about 130,000 workers, which is most of the company's employees (excluding a few staffers to man online operations), the company announced in a news release Monday. "All of our stores have been closed since March 18th and will remain closed until we have clear line of sight on when it is safe to reopen," the company said. Furloughed employees will remain enrolled in the company’s health benefits program at least through May, with the company covering 100% of the premium. “We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes,” Macy’s added.
Gap Inc. followed in the footsteps of other major retailers and announced furloughs affecting "the majority of its store teams in the United States and Canada" late in the business day Monday. "We know that tens of thousands of people rely on us to support themselves and their families, and that millions more around the world rely on our business," president and CEO Sonia Syngal said in a news release. "We are doing everything we can to provide support during this time, and we are intensely focused on welcoming back our store teams and customers as soon as we are able.”
L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret and Tailored Brands, the umbrella company of Jos. A Bank and Men’s Wearhouse, furloughed all of its store employees last week, GQ reported.
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The same week, The Cheesecake Factory announced furloughs affecting 41,000 hourly employees, USA Today reported. In response, CEO David Overton and other executive staff members plan to forfeit 20% of their base pay starting Wednesday, still leaving the company in such a financial state that it was forced to skip April rent at its locations.
Sysco, the largest food distributor in the nation, wouldn't disclose how many jobs it plans to scale back, but the company announced it would be doing furloughs, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday.
The Economic Policy Institute said overall, furloughs could have drastic effects. “Unlike the federal government, state and local governments must largely balance their budgets,” the agency reported. “This means that when revenues fall off a cliff because of lower incomes and spending during this economic crisis, state and local governments will face serious fiscal constraints, often leading to budget cuts that further depress demand in the economy.”