The CEO of Texas Roadhouse will be forgoing his base salary and bonus in order to pay his restaurant’s employees who are working amid the coronavirus outbreak that has caused thousands of restaurants across the country to close.
W. Kent Taylor will forgo his salary and bonus between March 18 and Jan. 7 of next year to pay front-line workers at his restaurant, according to Market Watch.
Taylor earned $1.3 million in 2018, including a $525,000 base salary, Louisville Business First reported. Texas Roadhouse will also be suspending its dividend in order to save money during the coronavirus pandemic, Market Watch reported. Texas Roadhouse employs more than 56,000 people and has 563 locations in the U.S. and abroad. (RELATED: Dr. Fauci Comes Close To Recommending Complete Shutdown Of Bars And Restaurants)
Many restaurant chains are struggling with closures and in some cases, are seeking rent relief due to a decline in sales or being ordered to shut down to help slow the coronavirus spread.
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 26: A Cheesecake Factory restaurant is operating on March 26, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. The restaurant chain has announced that it will not be able to pay its rent starting to April 1 due to how the COVID-19 crisis has affected its business. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Cheesecake Factory, Wendy’s and other chains are helping their stores seek rent relief or are calling for rent reductions from landlords. The Cheesecake Factory’s CEO David Overton told landlords that the company’s stores would not pay rent for April due to the extraordinary losses, Business Insider reported.