Thread regarding Bed Bath & Beyond layoffs

I’m assuming the 11,000 associates will be getting calls today about going back to work. I guess we will see.

Dear Associate:

I hope that this email finds you and your family safe and well. I would like to provide you with an update on our plans to open more of our stores, expand curbside services for customers, and what this means for you.

I’m pleased to announce that we expect to open around 600 stores fully to the public by the middle of June, subject to state, province or local regulations. This includes approximately 500 Bed Bath & Beyond stores, and a further 50 or so Christmas Tree Shops and a similar number of Cost Plus stores. In addition to our BABY and Harmon stores, which have been open throughout to serve essential infant, health and personal care items, this means around 50% of our stores will be open to the public again.

In addition, by mid-June, we plan to offer contactless curbside pick-up at around 90% of our stores across the US and Canada. This is a huge step forward for our business, allowing us to serve customers quickly, conveniently and safely in the majority of locations across Bed Bath & Beyond, BABY, Harmon and Cost Plus.

Over the last 8 weeks in the US, traffic to our Bed Bath & Beyond website and mobile app is up and digital sales are also up significantly. Customers are responding well to the launch of BOPIS and contactless curbside pickup and we anticipate continued growth as we expand the service to more stores in the coming weeks.

These are fantastic achievements and the approach we’re taking to open our stores means we are also able to bring around 11,000 of our people back to work, with more to follow.

We continue to make decisions informed by the latest guidance from federal, state or province and local government. Based on what we currently know, we are today announcing the extension of the temporary closure to the public of around half of our stores until at least June 13, 2020. In line with our last announcement, this means we will also extend the furlough of the majority of store associates and a portion of corporate associates until at least June 13, 2020. We will continue to pay 100% of the cost of healthcare premiums for all furloughed associates who are not being paid and currently participate in the Company’s health plan, until further notice.

This message is confirmation that your furlough is being extended. We will contact you in if your store is re-opening or we are extending services and need you to return to work.

I want to assure you that we are taking measured, purposeful steps to resume normal operations so that we can bring our teams back to work in the short, medium and long-term. We will continue to do so with your safety and the safety of our customers as our number one priority, guided by our own medical team as well as the latest guidance from federal, state, province and local government and health authorities.

Our financial strength and flexibility allows us to take this patient, market-by-market approach, while we invest in rebuilding our business and introducing new services for our loyal customers.

I want to thank all of our dedicated associates for helping us resume operations safely and I look forward to welcoming more of our teams back into our business as we re-open stores in the coming weeks.

We plan to share another company-wide update on June 5 and will notify you as soon as possible when we plan to bring you back into work.

If you have questions or would like a copy of the Associate Resource Guide, please contact the HR Service Center myHRSC@bedbath.com or by calling 1-844-694-7721.

In the meantime, thank you for your patient support.

Thank you,

Bill Gilooly

Chief Human Resources Officer

Thank you

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bed-bath-beyond-announces-plan-113000263.html

Can you share where you read the message from the CEO? I would like to read it. Thank you