As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have unprecedented effects on the world as we know it, Newell Brands is closely monitoring the situation and making decisions in the best interest of our employees, consumers, customers and communities. We recognize the role our products play in your daily lives—from food preservation and workplace sanitation to childcare and relaxation with home fragrances—and their importance in these uncertain times. As we respond to the ongoing situation, we are doing everything possible to deliver excellent support to our partners and delight our consumers while prioritizing the health and wellbeing of our employees.
Since the initial outbreak, our global Incident Management Team has been monitoring the situation around the clock. We launched a cross-functional COVID-19 task force to continually evaluate the everchanging situation and activate policies and programs to protect the health of our employees while continuing operations globally. I’d like to share with you some of the measures we’ve taken in response to these dynamic times.
Employee Wellbeing
Keeping employees safe and informed is our first line of defense to limit the threat of exposure and the potential for the virus to spread.
As such, international and domestic business air travel have been restricted and we are not approving any employee travel. We are also requiring a 14-day self-quarantine period upon return for any employees who travel outside their home country for personal reasons.
Additionally, we made the difficult decision to close our Yankee Candle, Marmot, ExOfficio and Coleman Outlet retail stores until further notice.
We also implemented our mandatory work from home plan for our professional, administrative and clerical employees in the U.S. and Canada, through May 1. On an international level, we have implemented similar programs for employees based on the situation and regulatory requirements in their local areas.
Our “front-line” employees who work in our manufacturing plants, warehouses, distribution centers and research and development labs are essential to our company’s operations and we are taking every precaution to ensure their health and safety in the workplace, including staggering shifts, compartmentalizing sections of facilities and increasing cleaning and sanitation. We are also offering a bank of Emergency Paid Sick Days to ensure our front-line employees can take all necessary precautions in response to COVID-19 without using their existing vacation and/or sick time.
We’re keeping our employees updated and informed with increased communications including a dedicated COVID-19 channel on our employee app, virtual meetups with leadership and we hosted a global meeting to address the entire company.
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Consumer Peace of Mind
Over the past few weeks and months, daily lifestyles and habits have changed for many around the globe who are increasingly spending time at home. Buying behaviors have changed and we’re responding to shifting demands by having our supply chain prioritize products that are essential during this time such as our food storage, food preservation, cookware, cleaning and sanitization and baby and childcare products.
Our products are also readily available at many online options for those shifting their purchasing habits from in-store to online in response to social distancing guidance.
We hope our products continue to bring moments of happiness and peace of mind during this challenging time and we are grateful for the continued support of our brands.
Supply Chain & Global Operations
We have made flexible arrangements and taken decisive action to promote employee health and ensure continuity of our global operations. Our customers need our partnership more than ever as we work hard to meet shifting demand and do everything possible to alleviate operational impacts or shipment delays. We will continue to communicate openly and partner closely with customers and suppliers to align our action plans and share updates as needed.
Our hearts go out to those who have been impacted by COVID-19. We will continue doing our part to mitigate the spread of the virus and prioritize the health of our employees while delivering on our commitments to our partners, customers and consumers.
We thank you for your continued support and wish you well,
Ravi Saligram
President & Chief Executive Officer
