PURCHASE, N.Y., March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo,
Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) ("PepsiCo") today announced it will
provide enhanced benefits to all U.S.-based employees and
additional compensation to U.S. frontline employees – the women and
men who make, move and sell products – amidst the novel coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. The additional compensation covers more than
90,0000 frontline employees at both PepsiCo Beverages North America
(PBNA) and PepsiCo Foods North America (PFNA) and consists of a
minimum of an incremental $100 per
week for full-time employees over the next month. PepsiCo also
announced it will hire 6,000 new, full-time, full-benefit frontline
employees across the U.S. in the coming months.
"With COVID-19 reshaping the way we run our business and live
our lives, it's important that we acknowledge the people keeping us
steady during turbulent times, notably the heroic work of the
millions of doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals around
the world," said Ramon Laguarta,
chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. "At the same time,
there is important work being done in other sectors, including our
own, to help maintain the supply of foods and beverages. We
couldn't be prouder of our PepsiCo team for the role they play in
restocking pantries and refrigerators."
The enhanced PepsiCo benefits to all U.S. employees include:
- Employees who must quarantine will receive 100% of their
pay during the up to 14-day quarantine period. The quarantine
period will not reduce accrued unused sick days, nor will there be
a negative impact to attendance records.
- Employees who have been assessed by a doctor and are either
showing symptoms or are diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive
100% of their pay during the 14-day quarantine period. Beginning
week 3, employees will receive sick pay/short-term disability
benefits, which will provide a minimum of two-thirds of their pay,
for up to 10 weeks.
- Employees who are caring for a family member living in
the same household who has been assessed by a doctor and is either
showing symptoms or has been diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive
100% of their pay during the 14-day quarantine period. Beginning
week 3, if they are not able to work from home, they will receive a
minimum of two-thirds of their pay for up to 10 weeks. If they are
working from home, their full pay will be continued.
- Employees who work at a facility that must be closed
will receive 100% pay for up to 12 weeks.
- Employees who are impacted by school or day care center
closure with no one home to look after a child, will receive a
minimum of two-thirds of their pay for up to 12 weeks if they are
not able to work from home.
- Employees are also eligible for free COVID-19 testing, a
"Crisis Care" reimbursement of $100 a
day for child care, and access to specially trained mental health
professionals.
"There's hardly a pantry in America that does not have a
Frito-Lay and Quaker product, and in recent weeks, providing those
products has become increasingly challenging," said Steven Williams, chief executive officer of
PepsiCo Foods North America. "Our frontline employees – the people
you see stocking your favorite bags of chips or canisters of oats,
the people driving those products there and the ones originally
making them in plants across the country – are the backbone of
PepsiCo Foods and we appreciate their heroic efforts."
"At this unprecedented time, which is having a profound impact
on all of us, we are so grateful to our frontline employees for all
they are doing to ensure our products are available for families
across the country," said Kirk
Tanner, chief executive officer of PepsiCo Beverages North
America. "We know our products on store shelves provide a
sense of stability and normalcy to consumers during trying times.
This is our way to recognize the critical role our frontline plays
in our organization, now and always."
PepsiCo has also taken key steps to protect the health and
safety of its employees while at work, including but not limited
to: increased cleaning frequency of facilities and assets, expanded
availability of gloves and actively encouraging practicing good
hygiene, stepped up visitor screening and restrictions, and where
possible, decreasing routing and merchandising to minimize
exposure.
Community Support
During this time of crisis, PepsiCo believes that the private
and public sectors should join together to provide assistance and
aid to the most vulnerable. PepsiCo's philanthropic arm, the
PepsiCo Foundation, is mobilizing its resources to invest up to
$11 million to provide food, water
and other critical support to communities affected by COVID-19
around the world.
In the U.S., PepsiCo is partnering with the USDA and the Baylor
Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty to deliver 1 million food boxes
to students in rural America, including a $1
million commitment. The company's Food for Good program aims
to provide 200,000 meals weekly to students and distribute at least
1 million meals over the next month to impacted U.S. communities.
PepsiCo has also provided $100,000 to
Feeding Westchester to help distribute shelf-stable meals and fresh
produce to local residents across Westchester County, New York.
Globally, PepsiCo is donating $200,000 to each Red Cross in Italy, Spain,
France and $100,000 to the Red Cross in Lebanon. PepsiCo is also investing
$1.5 million with the Global
FoodBanking Network to provide water and nutrition solutions to 12
countries affected by COVID-19 in Latin America. In China,
the company provided $1.1 million to
Hubei Red Cross Foundation and China
Women's Development Foundation to provide protective gear
and help frontline responders' and physicians' efforts in the fight
against the spread of coronavirus in severely affected areas of
China.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion
times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the
world. PepsiCo generated more
than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a
complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay,
Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product
portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including 23 brands that generate more than $1
billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in
Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning
with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the
marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business.
For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
Contact: Carrie.Ratner@pepsico.com
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SOURCE PepsiCo