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Furloughed Hilton employees in the U.S. will be given direct access to an online resource center and expedited hiring processes at leading companies including Amazon, CVS, Lidl, Albertsons, American Plastics Association and Sunrise Senior Living.
The hotel and resorts global chain has been forced to temporarily suspend services across the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic and guidance from government officials to close non-essential businesses in order to practice social distancing and curb the spread of the virus.
The companies partnering with Hilton are planning to hire more than 200,000 workers collectively for short-term assignments, as they address the increase in demand during the pandemic.
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“The recognized quality of our team members, including their hospitality and service culture training, make them ideal candidates to quickly step in and assist organizations in these temporary assignments,” said Nigel Glennie, vice president of corporate communication at Hilton, in an interview with USA TODAY. “We hope to expand the program globally, adding more companies, and we plan to welcome these team members back when travel resumes.”
With approximately 60,000 direct employees in its corporate offices and hotels in the U.S., and 200,000 more through franchise hotels, the company made the decision to furlough workers, as opposed to laying them off.
“Our partners need workers and our team members need to work right now, so this is an initiative we put together with the sole intent of helping our people, even though we can’t be the ones to employ them right now,” said Glennie.
While in furlough, employees continue receiving health benefits from Hilton but are also able to apply for unemployment benefits. With the joint initiative to find temporary work for its furloughed employees, the company hopes its workers will return to their previous roles when service resumes.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Lisa Bisaccia, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for CVS Health, said the company is ready to hire immediately and is looking to “fill more than 50,000 full-time, part-time and temporary jobs across the country.” Among the roles detailed by Bisaccia are “frontline store associates, prescription delivery drivers, warehouse workers and member/customer service professionals.” Likewise, CVS’s pharmacy and clinical side will also be looking to add pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses, among others.
Similarly, Marriott International, announced Saturday that it would also be furloughing about two-thirds of its 4,000 corporate employees at the company’s headquarters in the U.S. early next month for about 60 to 90 days. The company recently confirmed that it expects to furlough tens of thousands of workers throughout its network of hotels.
“We are also working with our client Marriott to help place its furloughed workers in roles across our company,” added Bisaccia. “We also anticipate working with other companies to help us scale up our temporary workforce to handle increased volume in our stores, distribution centers and call centers.”
USA TODAY reporter David Oliver contributed to this story.
Follow Josh Rivera on Twitter: @Josh1Rivera
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