Indigo Books & Music taps Canada's relief program, rehires 545 staff

Indigo Books and Music

13/04/2020 18:31

April 13 (Reuters) - Bookstore chain Indigo Books & Music
Inc  IDG.TO  said on Monday that it rehired about 545 of its
retail staff, two weeks after the Canadian government announced
subsidies to help businesses pay wages amid the coronavirus
crisis
    The company temporarily closed its stores on March 17 and
laid off 5,200 of its retail employees on a short-term basis, it
said.
    The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a "material"
impact on financials for fiscal 2021, Indigo said, but did not
quantify the hit due to uncertainties.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nCNWJs7xga 
    The Canadian government recently unveiled a wage subsidy
program, known as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), that
would cover up to 75% of the workers' wages for employers of all
sizes who had suffered revenue declines of 30% or more due to
the pandemic.
    The CEWS aims to help employers keep and return
Canadian-based employees to payrolls for a period between March
15 to June 6, in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19
pandemic.
    Air Canada  AC.TO  last week said it planned to adopt the
government's wage subsidy for its 36,000 Canada-based workforce,
in a bid to keep its employees on payroll.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2BW015     

 (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
 ((Nivedita.Balu@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6749 4822/ Twitter: @niveditabalu;))