A recently published article in Twin Cities Business reports that Marvin’s CEO is avoiding layoffs despite a “sales downturn,” and that the company instead began furloughing employees the week of April 20 at plants in North Dakota and Virginia.
“It’s very likely that sometime in May we will furlough employees at the Warroad plant,” CEO Paul Marvin said in the interview, but a specific timetable hasn’t been released. “This [furlough option] presented better opportunities for the financial health of our employees and our business,” he said.
Marvin has been communicating to its employees via recorded videos. In one of such recent messages to employees, the CEO said, “We expect that every team member at Marvin will furlough for at least two weeks, and it’s likely we will furlough more frequently than that in the weeks and months ahead.”The furlough strategy is linked to the CARES Act, according to the article, which explains that employees on furlough qualify for state unemployment benefits and The Marvin Companies maintains their health insurance coverage.
“We have not laid off any employees, and don’t plan to,” Marvin said. “We have a long and proud history of not laying off, both from a values standpoint but also a strategic standpoint.”
In recent weeks orders for the company’s products have fallen by 15 to 25 percent, depending upon the product line, according to the article. “Orders have slowed, and in each of our businesses and plants they slow at different rates based on the products that they are making,” he said in the interview.
In a recent video report to employees, Marvin said, “While orders are still depressed, the free fall in orders appears to have bottomed out, and we are holding steady.”
The article also reports Marvin told his employees on April 2 that he is “forgoing my salary” during the current crisis.
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