Hubbell Offers Update on COVID-19 Response

As part of an announcement on the April 30 release of its 1Q 2020 financial results, Hubbell Inc., Orange, CT, also offered insight into the strategies it’s using to combat the COVID-19 crisis and position the company for the economic recovery after the crisis passes.

Hubbell Chairman and CEO Dave Nord said in a press release, “As we consider the anticipated challenges we expect to face relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reviewed all aspects of our business and implemented a series of cost management actions to sustain the organization through this economic uncertainty, including:

• The board of directors will forego its quarterly retainer payments for the second quarter 
• Senior executives will take a 25% salary reduction in the second quarter
• All other executives will take a 15% salary reduction in the second quarter
• Salaried employees will take a 2-week furlough sometime during the second quarter
• Various other discretionary cost reduction and cash preservation actions

“Concurrent with these cost actions, we are also providing additional support to our hourly employees that manufacture the products so essential to our communities. To that end, we are paying all applicable hourly employees with additional appreciation bonus pay during the second quarter.

“To maximize our financial flexibility, the company has also drawn $225 million of an available $750 million on its revolving credit facility. This was a proactive measure we took to further bolster our strong liquidity position in the event that economic conditions worsen significantly.

“We are committed to ensuring we come out on the other side of this challenging period in a position of strength to meet the demands of our customers. These steps, along with reducing discretionary and non-essential spending, will help protect Hubbell’s ability to serve the critical infrastructure needs of our customers in the future. We will continue to reevaluate our next steps as the situation continues to evolve.”