Because of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, BJ’s Restaurants furloughed roughly 200 restaurant managers and 40 Restaurant Support Center employees.
The furloughed workers will receive benefits through June 30 and will be paid accrued, unused vacation and sick time.
Although sales increase each week with the off-premises model, four units have closed, the company said.
“The company will continue to regularly evaluate the strength and weekly growth of off-premise sales and associated cash flows for all restaurants and has every intention to reopen these locations as the country begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the restaurant said in a filing.
CEO Greg Trojan and other executives will take a 20 percent pay cut. Restaurant Support Center employees with salaries of at least $100,000 will have their pay reduced between 10 percent and 20 percent on a sliding scale. In addition, the board of directors decided to decrease its annual compensation by 20 percent for the rest of 2020.
BJ’s said it plans to repay all or a portion of the reduced salaries and compensation “if and when the company’s Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer deem it prudent in light of business conditions and the Company’s financial position.”
Earlier this month, the brand laid off 16,000 hourly employees and made the decision to not pay rent in April. The laid-off hourly workers were given unused vacation and sick time, and those not eligible for sick pay were given emergency paid time off.
On March 23, the company said it had more than $95 million in cash. The company stopped all capital spending, including delaying or cancelling new restaurant openings for 2020.
