SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between the San Antonio Business Journal and KSAT.
San Antonio-based Visionworks will reopen 60% of its 700 retail locations nationally in the coming weeks, but it will reduce a portion of its workforce through employee furloughs within the next 60 days, the company announced Friday afternoon.
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The company did not disclose an exact number of impacted employees, though it has reported having 8,000 employees in 40 states prior to the furloughs.
“We understand what an incredibly painful decision this is. Ultimately, it was necessary to ensure the viability of our operations and our ability to weather this difficult economic storm, while also allowing our doctors to continue providing essential eye care and relieve demand on emergency rooms at this critical time,” Visionworks President Pete Bridgman said in a statement.
Visionworks, a subsidiary of Rancho Cordova, California-based VSP Global, will continue to pay a portion of the furloughed employees' benefits, as well as receive assistance from Visionworks in expediting unemployment claims to help them access benefits.