Retailers furloughed nearly 1 million workers this week. But the troubles are just beginning.
Mike Derse kept his two toy stores open as long as he could, but sometime in mid-March he realized he had no choice but to lay off his entire staff.
“We just didn’t have the cash to keep our employees on the payroll,” said Derse, who closed the two Learning Express franchises he owns with his wife three weeks ago. “ ‘Look, we’re sorry,’ ” he told the 30 workers. “ ‘We’ve had to make drastic changes.’ ”
Like countless other small-business owners living in suspended animation until the coronavirus crisis wears itself out, Derse is hoping to tap a massive federal stimulus program and take out a loan to get his workers back on the payroll as soon as his stores in Bedford, Mass., and Burlington, Mass., are allowed to reopen. But specifics have been murky, he says, and it’s been difficult to get a clear sense of how, or when, to apply for the pool of $349 billion in stimulus money that became available to small-business owners Friday. Major banks like JPMorgan Chase have already warned that they won’t be able to accept or process applications right away.
So far, the only certainty about the outbreak is its ferocity, complicating Derse’s ability to anticipate, much less plan, his next step.
“Most small-business owners are living day-to-day,” he said. “If we have to stay closed for months, will we make it? I honestly don’t know.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/03/retailers-furloughed-nearly-1-million-workers-this-week-industrys-troubles-are-just-beginning/
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