CINCINNATI, March 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger
Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) today announced that it will provide
all hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy
and call center associates with a Hero Bonus – a $2 premium above their standard base rate of pay,
applied to hours worked March 29 through
April 18. The premium will be disbursed weekly to ensure
associates have access to additional cash.
Today's announcement follows and is in addition to Kroger's
previous commitment shared on March
21, which provided a one-time bonus to frontline associates,
which pays out on April 3.
"Our associates have displayed the true actions of a
hero, working tirelessly on the frontlines to ensure
everyone has access to affordable, fresh food and essentials during
this national emergency," said Rodney
McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "The Hero Bonus is just
one more way we continue to convey our thanks and gratitude not
only to our existing associates but also to the more than 30,000
new hires who have joined in the past two weeks and those who will
soon join the Kroger Family of Companies."
"Recently, we announced an appreciation bonus for our hourly
frontline associates. This gesture was to thank our associates for
everything they have done during the past few weeks," said
Tim Massa, Kroger's senior vice
president and chief people officer. "However, we recognize that
this crisis is far from over, and after reflecting on associate
feedback and working together with our union partners, we want to
further acknowledge our terrific team for their hard work to date
as well as the work yet to come."
Associate and Customer Well-being and Safety
"During this unprecedented time, Kroger's most urgent priority
is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, with
open stores and an efficiently operating supply chain," continued
McMullen.
To protect associates and customers and flatten the curve, The
Kroger Family of Companies has taken several preventive steps,
including:
- Enhancing our daily sanitation practices, including cleaning
commonly used areas more often like cashier stations,
self-checkouts, credit card terminals, food service counters and
shelves.
- Permitting and working hard to procure protective masks and
gloves for associates.
- Installing plexiglass partitions at check lanes, and pharmacy
and Starbucks registers across the enterprise.
- Adding floor decals to promote physical distancing at check
lanes and other counters.
- Adjusting store operating hours to allow more time for
associates to rest, clean and replenish inventory.
- Continuing to expand pickup and delivery services and
contactless payment solutions like Kroger
Pay.
Additional Associate Support and Resources
In addition to the Hero Bonus and appreciation bonus, The Kroger
Family of Companies is taking several additional actions to support
associates during this extraordinary time, including:
- Ensuring associates who are affected by COVID-19 – whether
experiencing symptoms and self-isolating, diagnosed or placed in
quarantine – can recover with the support of emergency paid
leave.
- Beginning next week, the Kroger Family of Companies is adding
ExpressPay – a new benefit that allows most hourly associates to
access some of their pay faster, putting money in their pockets
sooner than usual.
- Making $5 million available for
those facing hardship, including lack of access to childcare and
for those considered higher-risk, due to COVID-19 through the
Kroger Family of Companies Helping Hands fund.
- Offering an associate hotline to answer benefit questions
quickly.
- Providing access to mental health services and other benefits
to support associates' mental and physical well-being during this
stressful time.
- Supporting associates by onboarding more than 30,600 new hires
in the last two weeks, including workers from the hardest-hit
sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service
distributors.
Community Support and Uplift
The Kroger Family of Companies is also uplifting communities in
a variety of ways during this unprecedented time, including:
- The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is rapidly
deploying more than $3 million in
hunger-relief resources to communities disproportionately
impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through its nonprofit
partners, Feeding America and No Kid Hungry. The funding will not
only support local food banks nationwide, but also fund initiatives
that ensure children, whose schools may be closed, still have
access to nutritious meals.
- Making it easy for customers to support The Kroger Co. Zero
Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation's mission to create communities free
of hunger and waste by choosing to roundup their purchases to the
nearest dollar at every self-checkout lane or donate at
ZeroHungerZeroWasteFoundation.org.
- Donating food and funds to local food banks and hunger-relief
efforts.
- The Kroger Co. Foundation supported the American Red Cross
Annual Disaster Giving Program and Disaster Responder Program at
the $500,000 level for 2020, enabling
the Red Cross to develop capacity, leaders and resources to provide
relief.
To download Kroger photography and b-roll assets, visit
here.
About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co.
(NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our
Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family
of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11
million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience
under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us,
visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.