As we continue to come to terms with the shock of yesterday’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order, I think we are all overwhelmed with sadness by where we find ourselves today.
I want to begin by saying how sorry I am that we are in this position. We feel a personal responsibility to each employee and the reality of this new world we are living in is heartbreaking.
The spread of the Coronavirus, the ensuing executive order, and the resulting business conditions beyond our control required us to act. Unfortunately, we had to lay a number of people off, and I hope every employee impacted knows we hope to get them back to work as soon as possible.
To those of you who continue to support our essential businesses, I want to thank you for being there to help take care of our customers. Many desperately need us during this critical time, and you play a critical role in serving them.
In order to protect Forward’s long-term viability, we had to make many tough decisions in the last 7-10 days. Even though our stores, Subways, and energy divisions are deemed essential, the overall impact on sales has been steep. These declines limit our cash flow significantly and cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. We are monitoring things daily to remain focused on keeping the company agile and ready to bounce back as quickly as possible.
The situation we find ourselves in today will be overcome, and we hope to resume our normal operations soon. Please stay healthy and stay safe over these next several weeks.
Sincerely,
Abby Moniz
President, Forward Corp.