Macy’s to Furlough Most of Its 130,000 Employees
By Chava Gourarie March 30, 2020 2:55 pm
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Retailer Macy’s will begin to furlough most of its 130,000 employees, as it nears two full weeks of store closures because of the coronavirus.
All Macy’s stores have been closed since March 18, and that’s taken a heavy toll, the company said in a statement. “While the digital business remains open, we have lost the majority of our sales due to the store closures,” the company wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the temporary layoffs.
The furloughs will begin this week across the Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands, while maintaining a minimum workforce to support its digital platform.
Through at least May, furloughed workers will continue to receive health coverage, the company announced. Stores will remain closed until it’s safe to reopen them, and employees will be rehired as business resumes.Macy’s is among the many department store retailers that have struggled in the post-Amazon economy, with waves of layoffs and store closures. Just last month, they announced an additional 125 store closures nationwide, which they had planned to space out over three years, and 2,000 employee layoffs, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
