Coronavirus furloughs hit big food services company that works in schools, stadiums
Charlotte-based Compass Group North America, which provides contracted food services in numerous venues from Charlotte Motor Speedway to local schools, confirmed Monday that it too was being forced to furlough workers because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
With so many sites it serves closing, the company said it had to make “the extremely difficult decision” to begin employee furloughs. The company declined to say how many people it furloughed.
Compass Group contracts foodservice and hospitality serving millions of people through restaurants, corporate cafes, hospitals, schools, arenas, museums and schools, according to the company website.
In a statement to the Observer Monday, the company said despite the furloughs, many workers are still on the front lines feeding patients, healthcare professionals and children while school is out.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had to make the extremely difficult decision to place some associates in Charlotte and across the country on temporary leave, or furlough. This allows them to remain Compass Group associates during this time and retain their existing healthcare benefits,” the company statement said.
Headquartered on Yorkmont Road in Charlotte since 1995, Compass Group North America has more than 280,000 employees nationwide and saw $20.1 billion in revenues last year, it stated on its website.
The company had 2,500 employees across 415 locations in the metropolitan Charlotte area, according to a 2017 Observer story. Updated numbers from the company were not immediately available.
Charlotte-area affiliates include Chartwells, which manages over 500 public school districts and 2.5 million students; Levy, which serves Spectrum Center, Charlotte Motor Speedway and BB&T Ballpark; and Morrison Healthcare, which serves Atrium Health.
In a letter posted on the company website, Compass Group North America CEO Gary Green said, “The last several days have been the most difficult in my 21 years as CEO of our organization. It is unbearable to watch closures and cancellations happen at such rapid rates, knowing that there are more to come.
“... I want you to know this is not about profit or numbers... We are taking this measure (regarding furloughs) so we will ultimately be in a position to hire back our associates as quickly as possible.”
Compass Group’s UK-based parent company, Compass Group, has more than 600,000 employees worldwide and revenue of $32.2 billion, according to the company website.
Other furloughs and layoffs
The Compass Group’s announcement comes at a time when more than 3 million people nationwide lost their jobs between March 14-21.
After Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order March 17 loosening unemployment restrictions, about 270,000 claims have been filed, most related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.
Last week, Belk department store, based in Charlotte, furloughed an unspecified number of workers.
Belk furloughs workers, cuts senior staff pay 50% during wave of coronavirus closings
Belk has about 22,000 employees, including around 20,000 working in stores.
Following Mecklenburg County’s stay-at-home order effective last Thursday, all malls closed with only essential businesses like pharmacies and some restaurants serving takeout still open.
According to filings with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, other “temporary layoffs” in Mecklenburg county posted by March 26 are:
▪ 101 employees with Alsco, a linen and uniform rental provider for restaurants, health groups, automotive industry and industrial sites. It has two Charlotte locations. There also are 27 layoffs in Kingston and 29 in Raleigh.
▪Take 5 Oil Change, also called Driven Brands and headquartered at 440 S. Church St. in Charlotte, with 52 temporary layoffs in the Charlotte area, and 24 in Raleigh and Greensboro.
▪ 65 temporary layoffs at Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern, 4810 Ashley Park Lane.
▪ 815 temporary layoffs at HMSHost, the food vendor for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
57 temporary layoffs at BLT Steak, 110 N. College St.
