Washington (AFP) – Iconic American department store chain Macy’s on Monday announced it would furlough most of its employees after the coronavirus outbreak forced it to close outlets.

“While the digital business remains open, we have lost the majority of our sales due to the store closures,” the company said in a statement.

“We will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations. This means the majority of our colleagues will go on furlough beginning this week.”

Shallower cuts will be made in the retailer’s online operations, the statement said, and the company will keep paying for furloughed employees’ healthcare “at least through May,” with the intention of hiring them back.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-retailer-macys-furlough-most-staff-164324314.html