Stromberg Carlson temporarily shut down operations Monday evening and will not reopen until April 13, 2020. The decision was made after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued executive order 2020-21 in response to the coronavirus COVID-19. The order states, “No person or entity shall operate a business or conduct operations that require workers to leave their homes or places of residence except to the extent that those workers are necessary to sustain or protect life or to conduct minimum basic operations.”
While operations are suspended, Stromberg Carlson’s 38 employees will receive full pay and all benefits.
“We need to flatten the curve, take care of our employees and our customers,” Stromberg Carlson President Bob Brammer Jr. said. “This is a drastic step, but there are smarter people than me calling this kind of shot, so we will comply.”
Brammer said that ahead of the shutdown, Stromberg Carlson had taken measures to reduce employees’ risk of exposure to the virus, including spreading employees 10 feet apart while working and having custodial staff clean and disinfect more frequently.
“I was disappointed other steps couldn’t be taken, like creating 100-square-foot of work zone for each employee or such,” Brammer said. He said that at Stromberg Carlson specifically, it is feasible for each employee to have as much as a 10 by 20-foot work space that no one else enters.
Despite the shutdown, Brammer expressed positivity for the company and industries it serves in the future. “We’ve been shipping strong since the January shows and are taking steps to work overtime when we reopen” he said. “April, May and June are always solid months, and they will be again.”
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