Sephora Lays off Total of 3,000 Employees, Some Notified Via Conference Calls

Having closed all its U.S. stores last month amid the coronavirus pandemic, Sephora announced Tuesday it had laid off more than 3,000 employees across the country who had been with the company for a short time or worked limited hours. The remaining 9,000-plus employees will continue to be paid 100 percent based on average hours worked and given existing health benefits through late May or through the stores' reopening.

As for the employees who have been laid off, "They have all been offered severance and provided with resources to support their transition, including coordination with companies that provide essential services and may be hiring at this time. It's our sincerest hope that we are able to bring them back on staff in the near future," the company said in its statement.

One former California Sephora employee, Brittney Coorpender, went viral on Twitter for describing the moment she learned about the layoffs on a conference call Tuesday afternoon conducted by her district manager for some employees in her district. Coorpender told Business Insider that she and her co-workers were asked to mute themselves on the call before being told they had been fired, effective immediately, but could reapply in the future.

"You could hear everyone absolutely sobbing," Coorpender told the outlet. "I hung up as soon as I heard the first person cry at the end. I couldn't take it. I was in tears myself."

President & CEO Jean-André Rougeot said in a statement Tuesday, "We believe keeping stores closed is the right thing to do, but it means we have to make changes to our business, while keeping our employees informed of what the changes mean for them," he added. "Like many retailers with an extensive physical store business, there are tough decisions to be made to adapt to an unprecedented and uncertain environment."

"In the US, we have made the difficult decision to let go a portion of our part-time and seasonal store employee base," he continued. "We believe these actions taken together will support the long-term health of our business, protect our people and preserve our ability to reopen our stores when that time comes."

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