MarketPulse

FILLING THE DUGOUT

Louisville Slugger put 171 employees back on base with its loan from a government program aimed at helping small businesses. The well-known maker of baseball bats, now owned by Hillerich & Bradsby

Co., resumed production at its wood bat factory in

Louisville this week as parts of Kentucky’s economy reopened. The company said the cash infusion from the Paycheck Protection Program was instrumental in restoring about 90% of its work force. Bat production is resuming just as Major League Baseball owners are making a proposal that could lead to the delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans.

SOCIAL DISTANCING VOWS

Couples might as well add “in pandemics and in lockdowns” to their vows as social distancing shrinks or eliminates wedding ceremonies. Elaborate weddings and even scaled down affairs are giving way to the “minimony,” with couples getting hitched alone or with a few local loved ones looking on from a distance. Many even include the latest trend in everything from school to work: virtual attendance. Before the pandemic so dramatically changed lives, 20,000 to 30,000 weddings happened every weekend in the U.S., with more than 550,000 originally planned for April, May and June this year, according to data from wedding planning site TheKnot.com.

OFFICE SPACE SHIFTING

The virus pandemic could finally kill the open-space office plan. Cubicles and partitions are making a return to offices, according to architects. Working from home has become more accepted because of health concerns, and companies are looking to save costs on rent. “This is going to be a catalyst for things that people were too scared to do before,” said John Furneaux, CEO of Hive, a New

York City-based workplace software startup. The pandemic

“gives added impetus to allow us and others to make changes to century-old working practices.” Other potential changes could include staggered and alternating shifts and floor markings to remind workers to keep their distance.