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Best Buy announces COVID bonuses for employees, stores to be redesigned

Best Buy
Posted at 12:47 PM, Feb 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-25 12:47:35-05

Best Buy announced Thursday that they are changing their workforce as customers rely on shopping online during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a press release, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said the company would overhaul its online shopping format and test out a design at several stores that would reduce the sales floor's size and uses more space to fulfill online orders.

This comes as the company announced that this year, they expect 40% of its sales to come from e-commerce shopping.

But according to CNBC, this is coming at a cost. Barry announced during an earnings call that the company began with 123,000 employees last fiscal year but ended the year with about 102,000 employees.

CNN reported that the company laid off about 5,000 employees earlier this month, and over two years, Best Buy closed a total of 40 big-box stores.

Barry also announced that all full-time employees in the United States would receive a $500 bonus, and part-time employees will receive a $200 bonus "in recognition of their ongoing efforts in the face of pandemic fatigue."