Lithia Motors furloughs 10% of staff due to COVID-19 pandemic

MEDFORD, Ore. — The nation’s third-largest auto retailer, Medford based Lithia Motors is furloughing some staff due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CEO Bryan DeBoer tells NBC5 that 10%, about 65 members of the company’s corporate staff, is being furloughed. At the dealership level, each general manager is making their own decisions.

DeBoer says the company is furloughing corporate staff for the next 60 days at that time Lithia will do a review to see if more reductions are needed. Lithia will be subsidizing staff beyond government unemployment in hopes that staff will be available to return to Lithia. Deboer says the reduction will bring Lithia back down to last year’s staffing levels.

He also says the company is in a better position today than it was in the 2008 recession. At this point, DeBoer says the company’s goal is to remain stabilized and to continue providing services to its customers.