Furlough means they are coming back. That’s the definition of the word.
Companies that furlough have to state that they plan to bring back the employees to take advantage of the Partial Unemployment funds made available through the FFRCA. These funds are paid from federal tax dollars instead of being charged to the employees’ state unemployment insurance tax accounts.
They have no choice but to shutter retail operations. They are not providing an essential service under any of the Shelter In Place orders.
So, I think you might be reading too much into this.
That said, clearly it’s not good when a company has to furlough 7000 employees.
No offense intended, by the way. This is complex stuff.
I actually understand all of this and agree on the definitions etc.
I'm just saying that this on top of what has been their recent struggles will likely be the last straw. They might have every intention to bring everyone back and resume normal operations, but that doesn't mean they'll be in any position to do so. Indeed, they have no choice but to shutter their stores, but for how long is anyone's guess right now. I honestly don't see them getting the green light to reopen any time soon. I would not be surprised if it's two months or longer. With no cash reserves, no credit, and being about to die already before this crisis it's going to be a tall order. I don't think it even makes sense for them to try. Short of a massive bailout or forgiving of debts, they are in deep shit. My local store has been a joke for a couple of years as it is. The inventory is pathetic and mostly old, beat up junk. They have a skeleton crew working that are not exactly pros, they don't ever get current generation gear from anyone. If you want a current model of anything... you're SOL at that store. Even the main San Diego proper store has been that way more and more as the company has gotten deeper into failure.
They hardly had anything to offer a lukewarm buying public to begin with, I suspect that buying public will be much more frugal and particular when this thing blows over. There's going to be far less disposable income to spread around. That's going to affect every retailer for sure, but some much more than others.
I just don't see their viability going forward.
Whether the furloughs are simply protocol or not isn't the point really. If anything it's just keeping them in line with what's expected/required, and will work in their favor when the inevitable BK is filed. They aren't coming back to what they were before this. There's not a chance in Hell.
I could be wrong. They've surprised me before. This situation is unlike anything we've seen before though and a lot of businesses are going to be relegated to history by it. That's the sad reality. If this is the end of the road for them, they'll be stuck in a traffic jam on the way there. They'll have lots of company.
