The company had temporarily furloughed 171 employees, the vast majority of its workforce, in MarchGETTY IMAGES
Louisville Slugger baseball bat maker Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has "ended its mass furloughs amid the coronavirus pandemic after receiving some needed federal funding," according to Billy Kobin of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. The company had "temporarily furloughed 171 employees -- the vast majority of its workforce -- after shutting its museum and factories in March." But after securing funding through the second round of PPP, H&B officials said that the furloughed workers were "brought back." H&B VP/Corporate Communications Rick Redman "declined to say how much money the company received through the PPP program." But he did say that the company "reapplied for the PPP funding and was approved for it on 'day one of the second round thanks to the help of Stock Yards Bank'" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/10). Redman added that the company’s retail staff is "preparing for the Louisville Slugger Museum store to reopen on May 20 to ensure it is a safe and healthy environment." In Louisville, Marty Finley noted H&B also has "started preparing for the eventual return of the museum" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/8).
