Bed Bath and Beyond is struggling to keep staff leaving before their store closes and has been forced to offer bonuses.
Washington's retail industry faces enormous challenges as chains continue to announce store closures. Major chains are closing their stores across the state as their customers move to online shopping.
Now they are facing another issue- staff quitting before the store closes.
Let's take a look at this developing story.
Bed Bath & Beyond stores in Washington closing in 2023
416 Bed Bath & Beyond-owned stores in the U.S. will close in 2023 due to financial issues. Seven of these are in Washington.
- Auburn: 1101 Outlet Collection STE 1260
- Lakewood: 5830 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., S.W.
- Vancouver: 7809B Vancouver Plaza Dr #102
- Walla Walla: 1630 W Poplar Street
- Kennewick: 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd.
- Bellingham: 4255 Meridian Street
- Issaquah: 775 N.W. Gilman Blvd.
No closing date for the stores was announced, which has led to uncertainty for staff who will be losing their jobs.
Staff pay
There has been little incentive for staff to continue to work at one of the stores set to close, as Bed Bath & Beyond is not offering severance payments. Therefore staff in many stores quit before their store's liquidation process was complete.
To try and combat this move, Bed Bath and Beyond are now offering bonuses for staff who stay with the stores until they officially close for good.
The bonuses are reputed to be:
- $500 for hourly workers
- $1,000 for supervisors
- $1,750 for assistant managers
- $2,250 for store managers
One Bed Bath and Beyond employee told Insider:
"I don't think it was out of the goodness of their heart. They were losing a lot of people."
However, it remains to be seen whether these new bonus payments will be enough to incentivize staff to stay or if they will continue to quit to find new jobs.
In a filing today made with the US Securities Exchange Commission, the company stated that its challenges with retaining store personnel presented a material risk to its business.
For the latest list of all stores closing in Washington, please check out this article. To keep up to date with the latest retail and business developments, make sure to follow me.
Your thoughts
Should workers who lose their job due to store closures be given bonuses? Do you believe Bed Bath and Beyond made a wrong decision by not offering severance payments? Are you concerned about the number of retail stores closing in Washington? Should the government provide financial support for struggling retail businesses or laid-off workers?
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and share this article on social media and with others so more people can join the discussion.
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