
Macy’s to Furlough 100k Employees - Lagogarda
http://www.idahoreporter.com/2020/macys-to-furlough-100000-employees/
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thaumasiotes
Hey, this reminds me of the announcement a couple weeks ago that Amazon is
hiring 100k warehouse staff.

In China, companies responded to this shift in demand by having the online-
retail/logistics companies (demand way up, not enough workers) contract with
the physical-retail companies (demand way down, too many workers) for their
workers' time. You'd still be a Macy's employee, but you'd be doing Amazon's
work, and Amazon would send Macy's a big pile of cash.

Somehow that seems better for all involved than the way we appear to be going.

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pm90
An interesting idea but sounds like you’re treating labor like property.

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binxbolling
Wait til you hear how capital treats labor

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code4tee
Sadly this whole current mess may be an insurmountable hurdle for an industry
that was already struggling. This is all going to force some changes for what
the future of retail looks like.

Hopefully in the long run we can all find a place for in person retail. I buy
a lot online but still like going to stores sometimes too. We will likely see
the industry re-invent instead a bit with smaller footprints and a focus on
things that sell better in person than online.

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twblalock
When we look back on this in a few years I think we will see the virus
shutdowns accelerated some trends that were already slowly happening:

\- The demise of many traditional retail businesses

\- The concentration of surviving retail businesses into big box stores and
higher-end retailers (like the stores at Westfield malls)

\- Increased usage of online shopping and gig delivery services

\- Even more growth for Amazon, Walmart, and Target

I would expect, in general, to see more concentration in most industries after
the virus shutdowns end. Retail is the most obvious example.

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jolmg
> \- Even more growth for Amazon, Walmart, and Target

Why Walmart and Target? Aren't they also traditional retail?

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drusepth
Both Walmart and Target have taken huge strides in moving their business
online, and in a lot of features/perks are comparable to Amazon now
(especially in price and shipping speeds; Walmart price-matches Amazon and
gives free two-day shipping on every order over $35 without a Prime-esque
requirement, for example).

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toomuchtodo
One can also place orders at Walmart and Target, and pickup the next day; just
pull into parking spot, order is brought to the car. Best Buy is also offering
"to the car" order delivery during the pandemic.

Amazon delivery times are currently 1 week+ in many locations.

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Ididntdothis
At least they can stay on their health insurance. It’s always mind boggling
that in the US you will not just lose your job when you get laid off but also
your health insurance. For a lot of people this is life threatening.

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ryaan_anthony
Only if you are fired or quit. If you are laid off, you have the option to
continue your insurance at your employers discounted rate. The program is
called COBRA if you want to look into it.

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Klathmon
COBRA is temporary (for 18-36 months depending on the situation), and you need
to not only pay what you have been paying, but you also need to pay the
"employer's share". And it must be identical to the plan you left, so you
can't reduce coverage or change anything at all about the plan or you'll lose
eligibility.

That means people who quit or are laid off will end up having to pay more for
their healthcare at a time when they don't have any income.

COBRA also has a lot of hidden "gotchas", like for example if the employer you
left stops maintaining any health plan, your COBRA plan can also be
terminated. (This means if the company shuts down, all past employees lose any
ability to use COBRA. And this can happen even after you leave and are already
on COBRA)

Also if you fail to pay the premiums for any reason, your plan can be
terminated, and even worse you won't be allowed to sign up for a new plan via
the Marketplace until the open enrollment period.

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filmgirlcw
Yup — almost made this comment in another thread. There are tons of gotchas
with COBRA. Sure, if you can afford it, it can be better than the alternative
(especially if you have expensive medications or a pre-existing condition that
requires lots of ongoing treatment), but I’ve had plenty of friends who have
at various stages had to face questions about health insurance or rent — and
as you say, if you’re late at all with COBRA, you lose it.

The fact that the United States doesn’t have universal, affordable healthcare
is a travesty and the fact that our system has persisted for this long is
utterly insane.

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usaar333
> but I’ve had plenty of friends who have at various stages had to face
> questions about health insurance or rent

Do affordability tests not apply once you are laid off? I would think your
premium subsidies would go up and you can get an ACA plan.

At least living in CA, it generally feels like we have universal, affordable
(by some definition) healthcare, but I'm sure there are edge cases where the
affordability calculation breaks.

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filmgirlcw
Affordability tests are based off what you’re projected to make and if you
have any income or savings at all, that can impact that directly. Moreover,
depending on your needs, the cheap plans might not work out. If you’re
diabetic and require insulin and testing strips and other stuff, a high-
deductible plan probably isn’t going to work out. The same is true if you’ve
got specific prescriptions you need covered that are only up to a certain
amount on a lower-tier plan or aren’t available unless you pay more. So in
some cases, the ACA plan could cost the same as COBRA, and you’d be stuck
starting from zero with your deductible, which if you had paid into under your
employer, could be significant.

But beyond that, let’s say you anticipate you can make $3000 a month
freelancing. Now, this isn’t enough for your rent and your insurance, but it’s
still too high, perhaps, to qualify you for a lower-rated ACA plan. And it is
certainly too high for Medicaid. So if you live in a high-priced city, you’re
now stuck having to decide what you pay for — and that’s not always easy.
Remember, it’s not like moving is that easy — you may have to break a lease
(which costs money you don’t have), and you’re unemployed so signing a new,
less-expensive lease is going to be challenging too.

The safety nets we have in place are really only designed for the very, very
poor (and even then, they don’t go far enough). If you are anything but that —
you’re really fucked, especially if you live in an medium-size or larger
city/urban area.

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twblalock
I hope the furloughed workers will be able to get unemployment benefits or
something similar. Otherwise being furloughed is the worst of both worlds:
employed, but unpaid.

On the other hand, being furloughed rather than laid off will mean the workers
keep their health insurance.

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ilikehurdles
Having your hours or pay cut significantly qualifies for unemployment.

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wil421
Not in certain states. My friend in the hotel industry just got furloughed
link Macy’s for 100 days, keeps his benefits but no pay and can’t get
unemployment.

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SamuelAdams
Doesn't look good, they had earlier corporate layoffs in February [1], before
this entire thing hit. My guess is it's only a matter of time before they
close shop for good.

Also check out all the WARN notices from businesses in NY posted in the last
week [2]. COVID-19 is largest (within the USA) in NY. As a result many
businesses are closing / furloughing / laying off people.

[1]:
[https://www.labor.ny.gov/app/warn/details.asp?id=7098](https://www.labor.ny.gov/app/warn/details.asp?id=7098)

[2]: [https://www.labor.ny.gov/app/warn/](https://www.labor.ny.gov/app/warn/)

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seattle_spring
I'm shocked Macy's has 100k employees. I thought most of their locations
closed? Or was that just Seattle.

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chrischen
Seems a little unfair that if your store happens to sell groceries in a part
of it then it can stay open.

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lgleason
No big surprise. Given that retail was already in decline before this some of
these jobs will probably not come back.

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taylodl
And department stores have been among the hardest-hit in retail: Sears, JC
Penney, and Macy's have all been struggling.

