Dick's Sporting Goods furloughs majority of its 40,000 employees
Most Dick's Sporting Goods employees will be without a paycheck for the foreseeable future.
A large majority of the company's 40,000 employees will be furloughed.
The Pittsburgh-based company disclosed the action Wednesday in a regulatory filing, citing "uncertainty surrounding the length of its store closures" in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But the company did add that employee benefit programs, such as health insurance coverage, will continue through the length of the furlough.
Dick's will keep on a small number of employees to fulfill online orders and curbside pickups.
"It is our goal that when this crisis subsides, we will welcome back our teammates, open our doors and get back to the business we love of serving athletes and our communities," the company said.
The sharp downturn comes just as the company was making progress against online competitors, with improved performance at its more than 800 stores nationwide and a growing digital retail component.
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Dick's stores have been shuttered for almost three weeks after the company closed the doors as governors across the nation banned the operation of non-essential businesses in an effort to halt the virus spread.
Among the company's facilities affected by the move is the 2-year-old Kirkwood, New York, distribution center, a key cog in the online initiative in addition to being a central warehouse for its mid-Atlantic store network. The 900,000-square-foot distribution center employs about 300 people. The company also has 42 stores in New York, including a store adjacent to its original outlet in Binghamton, New York, opened 72 years ago.
Among the other measures taken by Dick's: temporarily reducing wages for executives, senior leadership and retained employees; significantly reducing its planned capital expenditures; temporarily suspending its share repurchases; and evaluating its dividend program.
The furlough is the second publicly announced by a company in the Conklin Corporate Park. Maines Paper & Food Service furloughed 340 workers on March 20, according to records on file with the New York state Department of Labor.
This story will be updated.
Jeff Platsky covers transportation and the economy for the Paste BN Network New York. He can be reached at JPLATSKY@Gannett.com and followed on Twitter: @JeffPlatsky