Nearly 700,000 Retail Workers Out Of Jobs So Far Due To Coronavirus

It’s April 1, do you know where your job is?

After a short period of wildly unrealistic euphoria, sadly nurtured by the very top of the federal government, the retail industry – like most others in the country – is coming to grips with the reality of the coronavirus business shutdown.

With the start of the new month and the end of a two-week shutdown period that more than 150 retailing companies put into place, massive layoffs – sometimes called furloughs in an effort to soften what is still a harsh blow – are now being announced in rapid succession from all sides of the industry.

Hard counts are still somewhat difficult to nail down as many companies are only giving rough numbers on the reductions but even estimating, it appears that at least close to 700,000 retail workers are now unemployed, just including the high profile companies that have made layoff announcements. There are likely to many more as yet unannounced.

It is estimated that 52 million Americans are employed in all of retailing, which includes workers at restaurants, gas stations, car dealerships and many other service businesses as well as traditional retail stores.

Many of them have reasonable expectations that they will be able to return to their jobs once the pandemic subsides but the specifics are more disturbing. At least some of the retailers that shut will not reopen, forced into liquidation by the crisis. Others will put into place significant downsizings, both in total store numbers and workforces. And the accelerated shift to online shopping that is expected to be a prime byproduct of this situation will likely mean more jobs in retailing migrating to distribution centers and customer service centers rather than physical selling floors.

While the distinction between layoffs and furloughs is a fine point, the former essentially means the person has been fired and will not necessarily have a job when stores reopen. Furloughs imply that this is temporary and the affected person can return to work when the crisis passes. In many cases, the company is continuing to pay for health care for furloughed workers as well.

These reductions come as operators of shopping centers are taking similar actions. Simon Property Group, the largest mall operator in the country, announced it was laying off 30% of its 4,500-person workforce earlier this week.

At least two retailers, Williams Sonoma and Best Buy, are bucking the trend, saying they will continue to pay their employees: the former for the duration of its closings and the latter for two weeks through April 18. Best Buy said it would even be giving bonuses and raises to employees who manned the skeleton staffs at its stores which are offering curbside pick-ups.

One interesting twist on the retail worker picture is something that Neiman Marcus is doing. The company’s stores are closed through at least the end of April and most of its 14,000 employees are out of work. It has said it created what it calls “partnerships” with other retailers who are open and hiring, stores like CVS, Kroger, Costco, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, sending its furloughed workers to them at least on a temporary basis. It’s a noble effort even if the mechanics of a Bergdorf’s fine jewelry salesperson working the lumber department at Depot would seem to have some challenges.

And it should be noted that many retail CEOs and C-level executives are taking pay cuts or even working without pay at the same time they are laying off staffs. Most retailers have also suspended paying dividends and stock buybacks.

Here is a list of the retailers who have cut back their workforces due to the coronavirus along with layoffs and furloughs from actual announced numbers or estimates based on the company’s total employee count:

Ascena Retail:         31,000  (Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant)

Belk:                         23,000

Everlane:                      300

Gap:                          80,000

Guitar Center:           9,000

JC Penney:              80,000

Kohl’s:                      85,000

L Brands                  57,000 (Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works)           

Macy’s:                  120,000 (Bloomingdale’s, Blue Mercury)

Neiman Marcus:     13,000

Nordstrom:              70,000

Tailored Brands:     17,000 (Men’s Warehouse, Jos. A Bank)

Urban Outfitters:    15,000 (Anthropologie, Free People)



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