Macy's executives got more than $9 million in stock bonuses after laying off 3,900 workers

• Macy's executives received more than $9 million in stock awards this month.
• Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Macy's laid off 3,900 workers in June.
• The C-suite also reversed its pay cuts taken to conserve cash as the economic downturn wreaked havoc on the retail industry.

Macy's laid off thousands of workers in recent months as the coronavirus cratered the already struggling retailer's sales.

Its executives, meanwhile, got stock bonuses worth millions of dollars on July 9, according to regulatory filings first reported by Bloomberg.

CEO Jeffrey Gennette received 546,757 shares of company stock, worth roughly $3.8 million at Thursday's prices, while COO John Harper, CFO Felicia Williams, and chief legal officer Elisa Garcia collectively raked in shares worth $2.6 million.

Danielle Kirigan, the beleaguered department store's chief transformation officer, was also awarded $3.2 million worth of stock options as part of her pay plan that shareholders approved in 2018.

The bonuses total $9.6 million at today's prices, and are on a two-year vesting regimen. The awards are usually granted in March, but were delayed this year because of the outbreak, Macy's said. In addition to laying off workers in the meantime, many were also sent on unpaid leave in May.

"My top priority is having cash sufficiency in our company during the crisis," Gennette said in an email to Macy's staff at the time. Shares of the company are down 58% since the beginning of the year.

Even before the global pandemic brought the American economy to its knees, Macy's was struggling with shrinking sales and falling profits. In February, the company announced 125 store closures along with 2,000 other corporate job cuts over five years.

Still, its C-suite has remained comfortably paid. After a brief pay cut taken by top bosses in April, the company in July reinstated their full salaries, including CEO Genette's $1.3 million annual pay (not including millions in stock awards).

Consumer spending has bounced back almost to the levels seen at the beginning of the year, which could be a good sign for Macys as many of its competitors begin to file for bankruptcy. 24 retailers and restaurants — including J. Crew, JC Penney, and Nieman Marcus — have begun the bankruptcy or liquidation process, according to a running tally by Business Insider.