Furloughed Conformis Employees Returning to Work

Conformis Inc. announced today that, due in large part to a loan made available to the company under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP Loan) offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration to qualified small businesses in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the economic harm done to the company’s business, Conformis has accelerated its plan to return to full-time employment the vast majority of those employees who were furloughed on March 23. With the exception of a few employees who have separated from the company in the normal course of business, the company expects most of the furloughed employees to return to active employment as early as April 27.
 
“A month ago, we announced the difficult decision to furlough a significant portion of our direct workforce in response to mandated government shutdowns of elective surgery across the globe and especially in the United States. I am very pleased to report that, because of the federal government’s CARES Act and, specifically, the PPP Loan we received, we are able to return our employees to work,” said Mark Augusti, president and CEO. “In addition, we have started to receive indications that elective surgeries in the United States may return slightly sooner than expected, especially in ambulatory surgical or outpatient centers, as noted by the government’s Phase 1 guidelines for ‘Opening Up America Again.’ We believe that our proprietary approach to total joint replacement is uniquely suited for efficiently handling these outpatient cases. We would note that our approach also provides for a best-in-class approach to limiting infection and reducing the exposure and burden to medical staff.”
 
Augusti further commented, “The ongoing and future effects of the coronavirus pandemic are unpredictable and continue to evolve, but we believe that the actions we are taking are necessary and appropriate both for our employees and for preparing to serve our customers and patients as America gets back to business.”

Last week, Conformis announced it entered into a $4,719,800 promissory note with East West Bank under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to mitigate the negative financial and operational impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) authorizes the SBA to make available low-interest rate loans to qualified small businesses under the PPP. According to the terms of the PPP, all or a portion of the loan may be fully forgiven if the funds are used for payroll costs (and at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll), interest on certain other outstanding debt, rent, and utilities.