SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Charles V. Bergh, president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., during a photoshoot on June 1, 2017. (Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images)
'Outrageous': Major US Companies Hand Shareholders Hundreds of Millions in Dividends While Slashing Thousands of Jobs
"Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on dividends to enrich wealthy shareholders," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, these "corporations should be using this money to compensate the thousands of workers they laid off."
May 06, 2020
Five major U.S. corporations that have laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks have simultaneously dished out hundreds of millions of dollars in cash dividends to wealthy shareholders, drawing outrage from Sen. Bernie Sanders and others who say the companies should be using the money to keep people employed.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that manufacturing giant Caterpillar, toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker, clothing company Levi Strauss, office furniture company Steelcase, and World Wrestling Entertainment have paid out a combined $700 million in cash dividends to shareholders while they shutter operations and lay off employees as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy.
"They are not alone," the Post reported. "As the pandemic squeezes big companies, executives are making decisions about who will bear the brunt of the sacrifices, and in at least some cases, workers have been the first to lose, even as shareholders continue to collect... Caterpillar, for example, announced a $500 million distribution to shareholders April 8, about two weeks after indicating that operations at some plants would stop."
"In a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders. But in a crisis, companies will differ. Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
--William Lazonick, University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Stanley Black & Decker, a fortune 500 company, announced at the beginning of April that it planned to lay off workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are in a strong position as we face today's challenges and are taking the necessary actions now to protect our employees and the business while positioning the company to thrive into the future," CEO James Loree said at the time.
Stanley Black & Decker issued a $106 million dividend to shareholders just two weeks after announcing job cuts, according to the Post. Levi Strauss rewarded shareholders with $32 million in dividends on April 7, the same day the company said it would furlough all of its U.S. retail store employees.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the companies' behavior "outrageous."
"Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on dividends to enrich wealthy shareholders, Caterpillar, Black & Decker, Levi Strauss, and other corporations should be using this money to compensate the thousands of workers they laid off."
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the congressional panel overseeing the Trump administration's use of corporate bailout money, pointed out that "there's nothing stopping" large companies from receiving taxpayer bailout money and continuing to lay off workers.
It is unclear whether any of the companies examined in the Post report have received bailout funds from the Treasury Department.
William Lazonick, emeritus economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, told the Post that "in a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders."
"But in a crisis, companies will differ," said Lazonick. "Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Five major U.S. corporations that have laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks have simultaneously dished out hundreds of millions of dollars in cash dividends to wealthy shareholders, drawing outrage from Sen. Bernie Sanders and others who say the companies should be using the money to keep people employed.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that manufacturing giant Caterpillar, toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker, clothing company Levi Strauss, office furniture company Steelcase, and World Wrestling Entertainment have paid out a combined $700 million in cash dividends to shareholders while they shutter operations and lay off employees as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy.
"They are not alone," the Post reported. "As the pandemic squeezes big companies, executives are making decisions about who will bear the brunt of the sacrifices, and in at least some cases, workers have been the first to lose, even as shareholders continue to collect... Caterpillar, for example, announced a $500 million distribution to shareholders April 8, about two weeks after indicating that operations at some plants would stop."
"In a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders. But in a crisis, companies will differ. Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
--William Lazonick, University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Stanley Black & Decker, a fortune 500 company, announced at the beginning of April that it planned to lay off workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are in a strong position as we face today's challenges and are taking the necessary actions now to protect our employees and the business while positioning the company to thrive into the future," CEO James Loree said at the time.
Stanley Black & Decker issued a $106 million dividend to shareholders just two weeks after announcing job cuts, according to the Post. Levi Strauss rewarded shareholders with $32 million in dividends on April 7, the same day the company said it would furlough all of its U.S. retail store employees.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the companies' behavior "outrageous."
"Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on dividends to enrich wealthy shareholders, Caterpillar, Black & Decker, Levi Strauss, and other corporations should be using this money to compensate the thousands of workers they laid off."
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the congressional panel overseeing the Trump administration's use of corporate bailout money, pointed out that "there's nothing stopping" large companies from receiving taxpayer bailout money and continuing to lay off workers.
It is unclear whether any of the companies examined in the Post report have received bailout funds from the Treasury Department.
William Lazonick, emeritus economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, told the Post that "in a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders."
"But in a crisis, companies will differ," said Lazonick. "Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
Five major U.S. corporations that have laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks have simultaneously dished out hundreds of millions of dollars in cash dividends to wealthy shareholders, drawing outrage from Sen. Bernie Sanders and others who say the companies should be using the money to keep people employed.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that manufacturing giant Caterpillar, toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker, clothing company Levi Strauss, office furniture company Steelcase, and World Wrestling Entertainment have paid out a combined $700 million in cash dividends to shareholders while they shutter operations and lay off employees as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy.
"They are not alone," the Post reported. "As the pandemic squeezes big companies, executives are making decisions about who will bear the brunt of the sacrifices, and in at least some cases, workers have been the first to lose, even as shareholders continue to collect... Caterpillar, for example, announced a $500 million distribution to shareholders April 8, about two weeks after indicating that operations at some plants would stop."
"In a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders. But in a crisis, companies will differ. Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
--William Lazonick, University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Stanley Black & Decker, a fortune 500 company, announced at the beginning of April that it planned to lay off workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are in a strong position as we face today's challenges and are taking the necessary actions now to protect our employees and the business while positioning the company to thrive into the future," CEO James Loree said at the time.
Stanley Black & Decker issued a $106 million dividend to shareholders just two weeks after announcing job cuts, according to the Post. Levi Strauss rewarded shareholders with $32 million in dividends on April 7, the same day the company said it would furlough all of its U.S. retail store employees.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the companies' behavior "outrageous."
"Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on dividends to enrich wealthy shareholders, Caterpillar, Black & Decker, Levi Strauss, and other corporations should be using this money to compensate the thousands of workers they laid off."
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the congressional panel overseeing the Trump administration's use of corporate bailout money, pointed out that "there's nothing stopping" large companies from receiving taxpayer bailout money and continuing to lay off workers.
It is unclear whether any of the companies examined in the Post report have received bailout funds from the Treasury Department.
William Lazonick, emeritus economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, told the Post that "in a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders."
"But in a crisis, companies will differ," said Lazonick. "Some will care... and some will rob the workers."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.