GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Steelcase has temporarily laid off nearly all its hourly manufacturing and distribution employees in Michigan in response to state orders aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus, the office furniture manufacturer announced Tuesday.

In addition, company CEO James Keane’s base pay was reduced to $1, while executive team members saw a 60 percent base pay cut. Meanwhile, nearly all of Steelcase’s U.S. salaried workers will receive a 50 percent base pay cut “and a similar reduction in hours,” the company said in an earnings report posted online Tuesday.

Steelcase, which is based in Grand Rapids, has suspended all activities at its Michigan factories except those serving essential industries such as healthcare. The company is helping manufacture isolation masks and face shields for West Michigan hospitals that are running short on the materials amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Steelcase remains open – actively working on new projects, continuing to manufacture products to meet customer needs and core functions,” company spokesperson Katie Woodruff said in a statement.

“However, due to Michigan’s governor issuing a state-wide mandate for all residents to “Stay Home, Stay Safe,” coupled with international jurisdictions issuing similar guidelines, Steelcase needs to pause a portion of its operations.”

Woodruff wasn’t immediately sure Tuesday night how many Michigan Steelcase employees were laid off.

On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a temporary stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The order mandates that Michigan residents stay home unless they are doing something essential, like getting food or medicine or going outside to exercise. It also requires the closure of most businesses except those deemed “necessary to sustain or protect life,” such as grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and public safety officers.

The order has hit other West Michigan furniture manufacturers as well.

On Monday night, Zeeland-based Herman Miller announced it was shutting down all manufacturing through April 13 — the day Whitmer’s stay-at-home order ends. The company did not respond to a request for comment Monday night.

In addition to its facilities in Michigan, Steelcase is suspending or reducing operations at locations in California, Pennsylvania and Texas. The same is true for Steelcase’s operations outside the U.S. in France, India and Malaysia. Similar actions will soon be taken in Spain and the United Kingdom, the company said.

“As we enter fiscal 2021, we had strong backlog, strong orders and a growing pipeline, particularly in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and the Americas, but the COVID-19 crisis has interrupted our operations in a way that makes it impossible to provide meaningful estimates of revenues or earnings per share," Keane said in a statement.

“In the short run, we are confident the actions we are taking will protect our people and therefore our relationships with customers, dealers and suppliers. These actions will also protect the company’s capital, so we can navigate through this crisis and emerge strong and ready to compete.”

The company’s employees in Michigan who are being laid off will be eligible for unemployment. Steelcase “has committed to pay the full cost of employee health insurance premiums” during the layoff, according to the earnings report.

Steelcase, which made $3.7 billion in revenue in 2020, had 3,500 employees as of 2017, according to a list of the region’s top employers maintained by The Right Place, a Grand Rapids-based economic development group.

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