Layoffs can be costly both to companies and to the employees whose lives they disrupt. But a handful of companies have managed to go decades without laying anyone off—even during such tumultuous times as the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic.
We took a look at the common traits a few of these companies share, and how they’ve been able to prevent layoffs:
Lincoln Electric: Lincoln Electric, a manufacturer of arc welding equipment, hasn’t laid anybody off since the 1950s—or perhaps even earlier, Fortune reported. The Ohio-based company, which was founded in 1895 and went public in 1995, employs more than 4,700 people.
Torani: The California-based company, which produces flavored syrups popular in coffee shops, employs more than 250 people. It hasn’t had a layoff since it was founded in 1925, Employee Benefit News reported.
Nugget Markets: This upscale supermarket chain in Northern California hasn’t laid anyone off in the nearly 100 years it’s been in business.It employs more than 2,100 people in its 16 locations.
Publix: A chain of supermarkets located in the US Southeast, Publix claims to be the nation’s largest worker-owned company, with more than 250,000 employees across 1,350 stores. The company was founded in 1930 and has never had a layoff.
What are some of the factors that make these companies stand out?
They treat employees well: Publix has been on Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For list for 26 years and Nugget for 17 years. Nugget offers premium-free insurance for full and part-timers, while Publix staff who work 10 hours a week or more can receive tuition reimbursements.
Lincoln Electric’s employees agree to an usual deal known as the Guaranteed Continuous Employment Plan: In exchange for a promise not to be laid off for lack of business, they must be willing to be paid by the piece and work fewer or more than 40 hours a week as demand dictates. At the end of the year, they’re paid a bonus based on company performance, which often totals 50% or more of their base pay.
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They take care of staff during hard times: At the beginning of the pandemic, Torani leadership discussed what cuts they could make in lieu of layoffs if revenue fell. Nugget began hiring at the start of the pandemic to help people who lost jobs, the Davis Enterprise reported, and was one of the first US employers to offer “thank you” bonuses for working during Covid.
They have a strong founder presence: Nugget’s CEO, Eric Stille, is its founders’ grandson and great-grandson, respectively, and Torani’s chairperson, Lisa Lucheta, is its founders’ granddaughter. She personally hands out paychecks to all of its employees every two weeks, the San Francisco Standard reported. Co-founder James F. Lincoln was chairman of Lincoln Electric from 1929 to 1965. He was the one who started the Guaranteed Continuous Employment Plan, which became company policy in 1958.
Employees stick around a long time: Torani’s CEO, Melanie Dulbecco, has been with the company for 32 years, and she told Employee Benefit News that many employees stay with the manufacturer for up to 25 years. Publix’s store managers have an average tenure of 24 years. But perhaps the best example is Todd Jones, who started with the company as a bagger back in 1980 and worked his way up the ranks. He’s now its CEO.