Thread: Furlough workers amid virus crisis

[AndhraneedSCS]

8 minutes ago, Amrita said:

Yeah asalu projects running lo undali ga ?  Maku eppudu cheptaro ento. 

Do you work for a Gaming company? I thought you work for US Govt

[Amrita]

2 minutes ago, AndhraneedSCS said:

Do you work for a Gaming company? I thought you work for US Govt

Yeah i work for govt. Adi ayina pikeyachu ga better than other projects.  Ours is critical project July varaku undachu Aug 1st deployment motham team potundi ani na feeling in these situations. 

[AndhraneedSCS]

Just now, Amrita said:

Yeah i work for govt. Adi ayina pikeyachu ga better than other projects.  Ours is critical project July varaku undachu Aug 1st deployment motham team potundi ani na feeling. 

Appatiki picture clear avvuddi emo le .. mostly initial stages of recovery 

[tacobell fan]

3 hours ago, snoww said:

Disney announced today

Starting April 19, Walt Disney Company will furlough employees "whose jobs aren't necessary at this time," following the closure of its US parks in March. The company said it will continue to provide full healthcare benefits and that employees will be eligible for state unemployment insurance.

[Amrita]

Just now, AndhraneedSCS said:

Appatiki picture clear avvuddi emo le .. mostly initial stages of recovery 

Ayite bavundu.  Already told all teams to work under 40 hours and officially removed OT. 

[tacobell fan]

Both major Boston sports radio stations — and their on-air talent — are facing the harsh financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entercom Communications, the parent company of sports radio station WEEI, informed employees in all of its markets Thursday that it would be implementing pay cuts, layoffs, and furloughs to cut expenses during the pandemic.

Early Thursday evening, Beasley Media Group, which owns 98.5 The Sports Hub, confirmed it has taken similar measures, which include a 10 percent reduction in salary for full-time employees during the second quarter.

David Field, Entercom president and chief executive officer, sent a memo to staffers explaining his company’s decision Thursday morning.

[tacobell fan]

BOISE, Idaho — Employees at Saint Alphonsus are facing down pay cuts and unpaid furloughs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to eat into profits, the hospital system announced in a letter to staff Wednesday.

"These are not 'normal times,' and the sustained loss of volume and increased costs associated with COVID-19 preparedness is outpacing our revenue," President and CEO Odette Bolano wrote in the letter. "Our revenues in the inpatient and outpatient settings have declined anywhere from 50-80%. While the operational changes we've made have been necessary and vital for the safety of our patients, colleagues, and communities, they have also resulted in significant unexpected costs which will continue for the duration of the pandemic." 

As a result, Saint Alphonsus is reassigning some staff, reducing salaries of top-level employees, and mandating others take unpaid leave. 

The pay cuts will apply only to senior leaders - vice presidents and above - and go into effect next week. Those employees are taking 15 to 25 percent pay reductions, except for Trinity Health President and CEO Mike Slubowski, who is taking a 50 percent pay cut.

[tacobell fan]

Due to financials losses from the coronavirus pandemic, Boston Medical Center is furloughing 700 employees, roughly 10% of the hospital’s workforce, news outlets reported.

BMC President Kate Walsh told employees in an email Tuesday the cutbacks are due to a sudden and significant decrease in revenue, according to a report from The Boston Globe.

“We have reassigned a number of staff members and made the difficult decision to furlough approximately 10 percent of our health system workforce,” Walsh said, according to the Globe. “Although furloughed employees will cease to work temporarily, they will remain in active status with the expectation of returning.”

Mostly administrative staff members at BMC and not to front-line health care providers are being furloughed, according to the Globe’s report.

The coronavirus public health crisis has led to layoffs, furloughs and major revenue decreases at a number of businesses in Massachusetts.

General Electric announced last week its aviation division’s workforce in the U.S. would be reduced by roughly 10%. The majority of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art’s 170-person staff is also expected to be laid off, and newspapers across the state and country have had to make similar cutbacks.

Many hospitals across the state and country, including BMC, have started limiting non-urgent medical procedures and elective surgeries to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hospitals have also put into effect visitation restrictions.

BMC’s furloughs come as some hospitals continue to see a decline in normal business because of the outbreak of the viral respiratory infection.

The Globe reported that the medical group Atrius Health has had to temporarily cut employees and decrease other staff members’ pay. More than 200 employees at Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts are also expected to be furloughed.

[tacobell fan]

Retailer Arcadia today said it was furloughing 14,500 of its workers after it shut its stores because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Topshop-owner also said that its board and senior leadership team were taking a salary reduction of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent.

Arcadia closed its physical stores two weeks ago as a government shutdown loomed.

[tacobell fan]

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that the auction house Sotheby’s would be furloughing 12 percent of its staff, which amounts to approximately 200 people, due to the financial and logistical challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Shortly afterward, news broke that Christie’s would similarly be furloughing some staff in France and the UK, and that some of the auction house’s highest-paid employees would be taking temporary pay cuts of 20 percent.

Auction houses, which of course rely enormously on the person-to-person dynamics established in sales rooms and offices, are now coping with the challenge of transferring the entirety of the business they do into a digital arena. Unfortunately,  their employees are currently paying the price for a sharp decrease in sales.

Workers from every different industry have suffered due to the immense impact of the deadly contagion, and both full time and part time arts workers are finding themselves scrambling in a new landscape that’s temporarily prevented access to museums, galleries and bustling art fairs. On the sales side of things, prospects for the future are perhaps more uncertain than they’ve ever been. With art fairs being postponed and the lively global auction scene being essentially put on pause, whether customers will even continue to focus on buying art with the same intensity that they did in the past is an open question.

 

[tacobell fan]

Yelp lays off or furloughs more than 2,000 employees due to coronavirus. 

[hotmaddy]

BENTON HARBOR — Whirlpool Corp. is asking salaried employees to take two weeks of unpaid leave as a proactive measure against the coronavirus pandemic.

The Benton Harbor appliance maker made the announcement Friday. Employees are to schedule a two-week furlough between April 13 and the end of May.

“With ongoing developments related to COVID-19, Whirlpool Corp. is focused on protecting the health and safety of all employees while continuing to serve the consumers who are depending on our products during this challenging time,” the company stated in a news release. “We continue to take proactive measures to mitigate the economic impact of this global pandemic.”

 

[hotmaddy]

Cummins Inc. is cutting salaries at all levels of the workforce as the company weathers the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, the company announced that Tom Linebarger, Cummins Inc. chairman and CEO, is taking a 50% pay cut while directors are taking a 25% pay cut. All other employees are seeing their pay reduced between 10% and 25% as well as a reduction in working hours

The actions are prompted by COVID-19’s impact on global markets, lower demand and customer shutdowns in several countries.

“The impact from the pandemic on the global economy has been sudden and is growing, and it is imperative for us to respond quickly to maintain our strong financial position,” Linebarger said in a news release.

The company will take similar actions outside the United States based on local regulations and collective bargaining obligations. These reductions in pay are intended to be a temporary measure; the company will continue to monitor business conditions closely and reassess the program at the end of the second quarter.

“These are difficult but necessary actions and I know they will have a real impact on the lives of our employees and their families,” added Linebarger. “I appreciate their understanding and support as we work through these challenging times together. I want to thank our employees for their continued commitment to ensuring our customers receive the products and service they need to provide essential support to the global economy.”

[tacobell fan]

Away sees 90% drop in revenue, furloughs half of its employees.

 

The coronavirus has been already brutal for consumer-facing businesses, and Away is the latest startup to take a hit.

 

Away’s products are all focused on travel, which has ground to a halt over the last month, and it hasn’t found a way to pivot in the midst of this crisis. According to a Medium post by Steph Korey and Jen Rubio, Away’s cofounders, the company has seen a 90% drop in sales over the last few weeks.

Other direct-to-consumer brands have had a similarly difficult time as consumer spending grinds to a halt. Everlane let 290 employees go; the Wing cut half of its corporate staff and almost all of its hourly workers; Thirdlove and Rent the Runway laid off all of their retail employees.

But in the post, Korey and Rubio say they are laying off only 10% of their team and furloughing about half. The laid-off workers will get eight weeks of pay, healthcare coverage until June, and an extended period to decide what to do with their equity. The company also says it will pay for the cost of career coaching and will circulate the résumés of laid-off employees to help them find new jobs if they so choose.

The furloughed employees are largely from the retail and customer experience teams and will continue receiving benefits. They’ll also be eligible for government assistance. (In March, Away closed its 10 retail stores; before the crisis, it had a significant retail expansion in the works.)

We reached out to Away for more specifics, but the company did not respond by the time of publication.

Korey and Rubio say that these staffing reductions were necessary to keep the company afloat. The cofounders say they’ve stopped taking a salary, and members of Away’s leadership team have also taken a salary reduction. “A month ago, we were making a healthy profit margin on every order,” they write. “Today, the company’s salary costs alone exceed our revenues many times over. What once seemed like a healthy cash balance is no longer enough to keep the lights on without dramatic action.”

While many retail startups are suffering, not all of them are dealing with the crisis with layoffs. As a way to keep employees on staff, some companies like Ministry of Supply and Rothy’s have started making masks for frontline workers.

It’s hard to know whether DTC companies will be able to keep employees on board as the pandemic drags on. As consumers remain stuck at home and a looming recession makes them more cautious about spending, brands will likely continue to see depressed revenues. And without significant reserves of cash, it will be difficult to keep paying their employees’ salaries and benefits.

It’s highly unlikely that the travel industry will be up and running soon, which suggests Away will continue to struggle in the months to come. For now, the brand is using its Instagram channel to show customers how to use their suitcases creatively while at home, as props for workouts, bedside tables, and laptop stands.

[tacobell fan]

Bucking the newspaper industry trend, Hearst Corporation has told its newsrooms there will be no layoffs, no furloughs and no pay cuts during the course of coronavirus coverage.

In fact, Hearst CEO Steven Swartz told publishers and editors in a conference call this week, the company is giving a 1% bonus to all employees, will create an added bonus merit pool later and is waiving the budget targets that determine executive bonuses.

In addition, the company is taking out six-figure TV ad buys in some markets to promote the papers and their pandemic coverage.

The conference call was internal, but summarized for Poynter from several sources who requested anonymity.

Hearst’s 24 dailies include the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Times Union of Albany, New York, and a Connecticut group.

 

Other chains and individual newspapers have been making a series of disheartening cuts in response to an abrupt print advertising downturn as my colleagues Kristen Hare and Tom Jones have been reporting. And at most places, print advertising had been sinking fast even earlier in the year.

By contrast, Hearst appears to have decided comprehensive local reports on the pandemic and recession are an opportunity to showcase public service work and build audiences.

It helps that Hearst is a private company, a diverse and rich one. Its magazine division with Cosmopolitan and other titles was a growth engine for many years. And along the way it has made many shrewd investments in digital businesses and established an international footprint.

Publicly owned chains need to satisfy investors who will listen to a longterm strategic story but mainly watch quarterly profit reports closely. And both chains and independently owned papers may be short on cash or overextended in borrowing, seeming to leave no choice but to cut.

Unlike Hearst, the Newhouse family’s private Advance Local, also part of a larger media company, gutted the remaining print news operation at the Cleveland Plain Dealer just this week, after losing a two-paper competition in New Orleans and selling The Times-Picayune to its rival, The Advocate, last year.

 

I profiled Hearst’s management of its papers in December 2016 in a story on the Houston Chronicle. It includes acquiring a ring of smaller weeklies if possible and a two-tier structure of a basic and paid premium digital report.

The company has a deep editorial and executive bench and typically promotes from within. In recent years, newspaper division head Mark Aldam became Swartz’s number two for the entire company and Jeffrey Johnson, who had been publisher of several of the larger papers, succeeded Aldam.

Aldam had a reputation among editors for tight budget control, so cutbacks are not unheard of for the Hearst group.

Hearst may be an outlier, not just in its action regarding newsrooms during the crisis but in the long game it plays generally. I would like to think, however, that Hearst’s bet pays off and inspires other deep-pocketed investors, individuals and companies, to see some business potential in the battered newspaper industry.