Bass Pro’s senior leadership is taking a 20 percent cut in pay as part of a move to absorb the coronavirus fallout, according to a company memo attained by Forbes. Pay for store managers, distribution center managers and other salaried employees will be reduced by 7 to 15 percent.
Wages for Bass Pro’s hourly workers, which account for 91 percent of the retailer’s workforce, have remained unchanged, but many have been furloughed or seen their hours reduced.
Revenues have been hurt, in part, as the company is closing some stores in response to local or state shelter-at-home guidelines. Three-quarters of the company’s 150 stores in the U.S. are currently open, according to the report. Stores selling guns have been deemed an essential business in some states but not in others.
Some stores that remain open are following social distancing guidelines that are limiting customers to 50 at one time and a Bass Pro spokesman said that’s had a “significant toll” on sales.
Bass Pro, which also owns Cabela’s, is seeing robust online sales. The report indicated that a distribution center in Wheeling, WV is processing four times its typical daily output. Distribution center workers are being asked to work extra hours to handle the workload. They’re also able to receive unpaid time off without being penalized.
The spokesperson said in a statement provided to Forbes, “Senior managers are taking limited salary reductions across the company. Unfortunately, this is the norm for many businesses and it is consistent with our objective to lower costs so we can get through this crisis and rebuild our business as quickly as possible. These measures have also prevented us from making significantly deeper reductions and furloughs.”
The statement added, “Bass Pro’s leadership team is working furiously to try and navigate through the largest health and economic crisis in our nation’s history. We are also trying our best to serve customers and support our team members to the very best of our abilities.”
