States Shut Down Bars, Restaurants To Stymie Spread Of COVID-19

from Challenger Gray and Christmas

Since Sunday night, five states and New York City have announced mandatory closures of bars and restaurants until at least the end of March. Along with his state’s announcement, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker chastised those who congregated at the state’s bars for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Similarly, Ohio, California, Massachusetts, and Washington announced bars and restaurants will shut down across the states.

Meanwhile, the state of Missouri is also reportedly considering closing bars and restaurants which could impact 313,500 workers, according to December 2019 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As of Sunday at 5pmCT, Washington had 773 cases, the most in the country. New York followed with 729. California has 301 confirmed cases. Massachusetts has 164. Illinois reported 93 confirmed cases of COVID-19, while Ohio reported 37. Missouri has 5 confirmed cases. Nationwide, more than 3,500 cases have been confirmed.

Job Cut Announcements Due to COVID-19. Through Sunday evening, U.S.-companies have announced and confirmed 634 job cuts specifically tied to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, according to tracking from global outplacement and executive and business coaching Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Another 460 cuts were announced this month from Services and Entertainment/Leisure companies due to a downturn in demand, but Challenger could not officially confirm they were due to the outbreak.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

*In Challenger’s March 12th report, 100 cuts were erroneously categorized as Technology. They were actually in the Entertainment/Leisure sector. The above table has been updated accordingly.

Challenger was able to confirm one additional layoff since March 12 due to the virus outbreak and will continue to update numbers as they are announced.

More companies are reporting hiring freezes and furloughs, including major airlines who are also cutting routes. A number of companies announced that cuts are likely coming or that they have had layoffs, but have not confirmed a number.

For instance, MGM Resorts International is cutting workers amid a demand downturn and presumed positive cases. The gaming and hospitality giant has yet to confirm a total. MGM’s longtime CEO Jim Murren announced last month that he was stepping down when a successor is named.

“CEOs who, like Murren, plan to leave upon naming a successor, might end up staying longer than they or the company anticipated to lead the company through this crisis,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior VP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

“Meanwhile, new CEOs will have their entire tenures defined by how they respond to this situation,” he added.

Challenger has tracked 347 CEO exits through February, 313 of which had replacements named by the end of February. February’s total fell 42% from January’s record high of 219. Companies may be responding to the virus by keeping existing leadership in place.

“Making a leadership change during a time of such uncertainty will not inspire confidence in workers nor shareholders,” Challenger said in the company’s March 11th CEO Turnover Report.

Companies’ Actions to Promote Social Distancing. According to Challenger tracking, outside of state-mandated closings of bars and restaurants, 99 companies and organizations have publicly announced action due to the COVID-19 outbreak, up from 28 on Friday. This is on top of 256 colleges and universities that have suspended or moved to remote learning, as tracked by Bryan Alexander. Twenty-three companies have offered their workers remote work options or are testing the possibility, up from 16 on Friday.

Eighteen companies announced they were closing to the public. Of the 24 organizations holding events, 13 have canceled the event, another eight are postponing to a later date, and three have moved online.