ETS cuts pay and offers buyouts, plans layoffs and furloughs for some employees
Educational Testing Service, the educational testing and assessment company with headquarters in Lawrence, has cut the salaries of employees and is offering voluntary buyouts. The company also plans to lay off and furlough some employees in response to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employees told Planet Princeton they learned about the cost-cutting measures on Friday. According to several employees, their pay was cut by 10 percent. The cuts appear to be scaled. After the publication of this story, some employees reported that their pay cut was less than 10 percent. Employees with 15 years of service or more are being offered a voluntary separation agreement. The company will also lay off and furlough some employees by May 6.
ETS is the world’s largest non-profit educational testing and assessment company and employs more than 2,500 people.
“While our top priority remains the health and wellbeing of our employees, customers and communities, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our ability to deliver assessments and conduct business. ETS has responded with innovative solutions to continue to serve test takers around the world, but these extraordinary and ongoing challenges have required us to make difficult decisions to ensure our sustainability so that we can continue to serve our mission and the local community that we are proud to call home,” said Meghan Cole, senior public relations manager for ETS, in an email.
“In addition to extensive cost-reducing measures, we have communicated to staff that there will be an employee impact that includes a combination of furloughs, layoffs and voluntary separations. Out of respect for the privacy of our employees, we will not provide additional details regarding the specific impact of these decisions,” Cole said. “These decisions in no way reflect on the performance or value of our colleagues. Our thoughts are with our team members and everyone who has been affected by this crisis, and we look forward to continuing to serve our mission to advance equity and quality in education through this crisis and beyond.”
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
Save Westminster from the vultures.
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Best
Liam
We have to approve comments manually because of people violating community standards repeatedly. No one is holding back comments. We just have not had time today to go in and approve the last comments. We just approved more than half a dozen comments a minute ago.