Another business has been hit by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that keeping its doors open has proven difficult while there are no sports or any physical activity going on during the lockdown.
Beginning Sunday, the retail giant will furlough almost 40,000 employees and keep only a “small number” of personnel to fulfill curbside and online orders.
Dick’s said in an SEC filing that the decision comes after it became obvious that 800 of its stores will not reopen anytime soon due to the continuing pandemic.
“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,” said the company.
While their stock did rise on Wednesday, it was not enough to keep everyone from being furloughed.
Dick’s is not the first major retailer to be hit hard during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. With demand for cars falling significantly in 2020, automakers Nissan and Honda announced earlier this week that they would be furloughing workers as well.
