Macy’s, the company that owns

Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury indicated on Monday (March 30) that it will be

sending home most of its personnel because of stores which have been shuttered.

The New York Times reported mid-morning

that the company indicates all will stay home until “safer” conditions are in

place.

Macy’s had 130,000 part-time and full-time

employees as of Sunday, February 2. Its digital business is doing better than

brick and mortar stores which have been forced to close.

Macy’s also indicated in a release that it

has stopped, for the time being, dividend payments and capital spending. Some

orders have been cancelled and credit restrictions applied.

The company said that fewer of the workers

in the digital business have been sent home. This includes distribution centres

supported by call centres.

The company is still offering health

benefits to all workers and says it will eventually bring them back on a staggered

basis.

The sharp economic contraction caused by

the spreading coronavirus epidemic is causing demand to fall as buyers stay at

home.

Macy’s outlines on its website “ The

COVID-19 outbreak continues to take a heavy toll on Macy’s, Inc. business. Our

top priority is the health and safety of our customers, colleagues and

communities during this unprecedented crisis. All of our stores have been

closed since March 18th and will remain closed until we have clear line of

sight on when it is safe to reopen.”

It added, “While the digital business

remains open, we have lost the majority of our sales due to the store closures.

We’ve already taken measures to maintain financial flexibility, including

suspending the dividend, drawing down our line of credit, freezing both hiring

and spending, stopping capital spend, reducing receipts, cancelling some orders

and extending payment terms, and we are evaluating all other financing

options.”

The company noted, “While these actions

have helped, it is not enough. Across Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Bluemercury

brands, we will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain

basic operations.”