ZEELAND, Mich., April 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Herman Miller,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MLHR), the global designer and furniture
manufacturer, announced today a set of actions throughout its
global operations in response to the uncertain economic outlook
resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've been carefully
considering the right things to do for our people and our company
to ensure we have both a healthy employee base and business when we
emerge from these uncertain times," said Andi Owen, President and CEO of Herman Miller. "Just as we entered this crisis
in a strong financial position, we are taking immediate actions to
reduce expenses and manage liquidity so we can maintain strong
financial footing on the other side of it."
Herman Miller is implementing a
range of actions aimed at temporarily reducing costs and preserving
liquidity. These actions include a 10% reduction in cash
compensation for the majority of the company's salaried workforce.
Additionally, the company is immediately suspending certain
employer-paid retirement contributions and will suspend previously
planned compensation increases and cash incentive bonus programs
for the upcoming fiscal year ending May
2021. The company will continue to evaluate further ways to
manage costs in line with reduced revenue levels.
In addition to the 10% reduction in pay, Herman Miller's CEO and its executive leadership
team will defer additional levels of salary for a minimum of six
months to further preserve cash flow in the near-term. This will
include an incremental salary deferral of 50% for the Chief
Executive Officer, and 15% for the rest of the leadership team.
The company is also announcing the postponement of its upcoming
quarterly cash dividend, which was declared on January 16, 2020, and was to be paid on
April 15, 2020, to shareholders of
record on February 29, 2020.
Herman Miller intends for this
dividend to be paid to the original shareholders of record at a
future date to be determined by the Board of Directors.
Herman Miller also announced a
temporary suspension of future dividends.
Despite these actions to manage business operations in the
near-term, one week after shutting down manufacturing in the wake
of Governor Whitmer's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" executive order for
the state of Michigan,
Herman Miller welcomed back
approximately 30% of its manufacturing workforce across its
West Michigan facilities to help
support customers who are actively engaged in the COVID-19
response, including the health care industry as well as federal,
state, and local governments. This work is coupled with using the
company's design, development, and manufacturing capabilities to
help in communities around the globe. Efforts include providing
frontline health care workers with necessary face masks and
shields, and partnering with local companies to divert operational
capabilities to support the demand for temporary health care
facilities. Donations and delivery of supplies are being managed by
Herman Miller Cares, the company's private foundation and global
giving program.
"On behalf of the entire organization, I'd like to thank all our
employees for their strength and character during these uncertain
times," said Owen. "I am proud to be working alongside them, and,
as we have demonstrated in the past, I am confident we will
successfully navigate this disruption together."
About Herman Miller
Herman Miller is a globally
recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and
services. Since its inception in 1905, the company has relied on
innovative design to help people do great things. The global design
leader has evolved into Herman Miller Group, a family of brands
that collectively offers a variety of products for environments
where people live, learn, work, and heal. The family of brands
includes Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Design Within Reach, Geiger,
HAY, Maars Living Walls, Maharam, naughtone, Nemschoff, and
Herman Miller. For more information,
visit www.hermanmiller.com/about-us.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act, as amended, that are based on management's
beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates, and
projections about the office furniture industry, the economy, and
the Company itself. Words like "anticipates," "believes,"
"confident," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "likely,"
"plans," "projects," and "should," variations of such words, and
similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. These
statements do not guarantee future performance and involve certain
risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict
with regard to timing, extent, likelihood, and degree of
occurrence. These risks include, without limitation, the success of
our growth strategy, our success in initiatives aimed at achieving
long-term profit optimization goals, employment and general
economic conditions, the pace of economic recovery in the U.S. and
in our International markets, the increase in white-collar
employment, the willingness of customers to undertake capital
expenditures, the types of products purchased by customers,
competitive-pricing pressures, the availability and pricing of raw
materials, our reliance on a limited number of suppliers, our
ability to expand globally given the risks associated with
regulatory and legal compliance challenges and accompanying
currency fluctuations, changes in future tax legislation or
interpretation of current tax legislation, the ability to increase
prices to absorb the additional costs of raw materials, changes in
global tariff regulations, the financial strength of our dealers
and the financial strength of our customers, our ability to locate
new retail studios, negotiate favorable lease terms for new and
existing locations and implement our studio portfolio
transformation, our ability to attract and retain key executives
and other qualified employees, our ability to continue to make
product innovations, the success of newly-introduced products, our
ability to serve all of our markets, possible acquisitions,
divestitures or alliances, our ability to integrate and benefit
from acquisitions and investments, the pace and level of government
procurement, the outcome of pending litigation or governmental
audits or investigations, political risk in the markets we serve,
natural disasters, public health crises, disease outbreaks, and
other risks identified in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Therefore, actual results and outcomes may
materially differ from what we express or forecast. Furthermore,
Herman Miller, Inc. undertakes no
obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking
statements.
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SOURCE Herman Miller, Inc.