Sephora Lays Off a Portion of Part-Time and Seasonal Employees Amid COVID-19 Crisis

When Sephora closed all its U.S. and Canada retail locations in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the brand initially claimed stores were expected to be up and running again by April 4 but, citing lingering health concerns, Sephora has now announced those stores will remain closed until further notice and that a series of layoffs will follow.

In a statement posted to the Sephora website on March 31, the brand detailed its plans for the future. These plans include letting go of a portion of its U.S. part-time and seasonal store employees, with those affected being offered “severance and provided with resources to support their transition.” Sephora assures that this will only affect employees “who have been with [the] company for a short tenure and worked limited hours.”

The remaining 9,000+ U.S.-based workers will remain employed and paid full wages “based on average hours worked and existing health benefits through late May or until our stores re-open, whichever happens sooner,” according to the statement. Additionally, all U.S. stores and corporate employees are currently mandated to take six days of paid time off (or PTO).

On the Canadian side, all employees are being retained and will keep 100% of their health benefits for the time being. However, they will see a pay cut of 20%, a move that applies to both store and corporate employees. Corporate employees will also see reduced hours, maxing out their current schedules at 32 hours per week.

Even in this time of crisis, Sephora says it is committed to keeping its online business running. In its effort to do this, it has increased pay by $2 an hour for employees in distribution centers until stores reopen, according to the statement and reporting by WWD. The company warns that customers may experience delays in orders due to social distancing requirements, but it affirms that it remains driven to fulfill every order.

In this spirit, all standard shipping fees on the Sephora site continue to be waived, and internal contributions to the employee financial assistance fund Sephora Stands Together have been increased.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue