Hey readers! As we’ve come to know, books are ever more important now that we’re home-bound. Maybe we’re not going out to book stores, but for those of you who are, Barnes & Noble is temporarily closing over 400 of their 627 U.S. stores in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, now, don’t panic. Luckily for us, it’s just a temporary closure, but it still doesn’t feel good knowing that book stores are closing indefinitely.
image via the telegraph
A letter was sent to Barnes & Noble’s 23k+ employees on March 17 before the mass closure. In it, CEO James Daunt warned, “with the closure of stores, we are obliged to make the hardest of choices,” citing that the company unfortunately doesn’t have the necessary resources to give paid leave to their employees as larger companies like Apple, Nike, or Microsoft, are able to. He continues, “This is a devastating situation in which to find ourselves and we understand the personal impacts of such action.”
Daunt stated that as stores closed, people with less than six months of employment would be laid off. Those that have been with the company longer than six months will be asked to used available paid time off, and those that have been with the company for over a year can receive up to two weeks of additional pay!
image via michael kozlowski on goodereader
Daunt states that “when a store is permitted to reopen, we will do so, and we intend to rehire.” The mass closures most likely has to do with the social distancing measure that are being pushed very hard lately in an effort to slow down the coronavirus.
CEO James Daunt didn’t say anything about their website also being affected by the coronavirus, so that remains a viable option for those of you who want to get your hands on some books to read while you’re stuck at home. As we push out more book content, we’re sure you’ll get lots of ideas on what to read.
featured image via usa Today
Bookstr is community supported. If you enjoy Bookstr’s articles, quizzes, graphics and videos, please join our Patreon to support our writers and creators or donate to our Paypal and help Bookstr to keep supporting the book loving community.
Become a Patron!
