https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2020/03/31/jc-penney-furloughs-most-of-its-85000-employees/
Not unexpected I'd say. Even salaried management will be partaking in this, according to the article. It is time for most folks to begin thinking about life after JCP.
Early retirement? That's interesting. Offers like that are a classic sign of a distressed company. Costs for hourly associates are easily handled by cutting hours or not scheduling them at all. The retirement packages are great to get tenured salary employees off of the books.
JCP corporate is gonna hammer the gas pedal when it comes to cutting expensive employees. The next few quarters are going be fascinating to watch...preferably from afar.
I received a letter offering early retirement with details to follow.
A furlough is an unpaid leave of absence, and is what many companies are doing during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is not a lay off and the intent is to have everyone return when business can safely resume for associates and customers. Associates who have benefits are having the full amount of those benefits paid by JCP during the furlough. This includes not only medical and dental, but life insurance, short term disability, long term disability etc. I hope that helps answer the furlough question!
It is correct to say that the furloughs are temporary. However, the future is really up in the air for JCP employees. These furloughs could certainly be converted to layoffs if business is slow to return when things start to open up.
I had a personal experience with this when I was still with JCP in 2017. The store I worked at was closed for 5 days after a hurricane impacted my state. While we were paid for the 5 day store closure, associate hours were cut severely afterwards and took almost a month to recover. Now compare that a 2 month nationwide closure of stores. How do you think that is going to end?
I'm not trying to scare anyone, but now would be a great time to plan for a future outside of JCP. Could you join another retail company? Perhaps another industry? A return to school or another form of training could be an option for some.
Let's be honest...the hourly jobs at JCP were never great. The pay is low and benefits are scarce. Not to mention some of the unqualified and rude managers going on and on about icaps.
It's almost like unpaid leave of absence. Her employment will stay active.
Laid off is you don’t return. Furlough is we want to keep you, we keep paying your medical but you don’t work or get paid. They can be laid off or brought back in the end. She will qualify for unemployment while she is not paid
My aunt who is a middle aged employee with JCP reached out to me regarding the furlough. I myself am on disability so I don’t know much about what a furlough is. I know what getting laid off means. Can anyone explain the difference and what her expectations should be regarding any pay going forward? Please and thanks.