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Purpose, Strategy & Culture

Operational updates in response to COVID-19

Read the latest updates on operational changes in response to COVID-19. We continue to update this to reflect the most current information.
The Hershey Company
Operational Updates

Key Takeaways:

    • Enabling a safe operating environment to help protect the well-being of our team members and continuing to make more moments of goodness for our consumers remain top priorities.
    • As an employer, we have an important role to play in ending the pandemic, sustaining economic recovery, and ensuring the health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities.
    • Our leadership team is having ongoing discussions with our medical advisor to understand evolving CDC guidance as the situation progresses.

As an employer, we have an important role to play in helping to end this pandemic, sustaining economic recovery, and ensuring the health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities. We believe vaccination is our best opportunity to achieve these goals.

In August 2021, the Hershey Company established a new health & safety policy requiring full vaccination for all corporate employees working in our 19E corporate office, Tech Center, U.S. commercial sales offices, customer teams, Hershey's Chocolate World Salaried Employees, Amplify, One Brands and Lily’s offices by October 4, 2021. To support this, the company sponsored multiple vaccination clinics and allowed employees to seek accommodations for religious or medical reasons. The company has engaged in an interactive process with our employees to evaluate when an accommodation is needed.

Nearly 98 percent of the teams covered by this policy have become vaccinated. Over recent weeks, separations for a small number of teammates, less than two percent of our corporate and commercial teams who did not get vaccinated, have occurred.

Our manufacturing and retail employees have worked safely on the front lines since the start of the pandemic with heightened health and safety protocols, including masks, physical distancing, sanitizing and on-site vaccination clinics.

INTERNATIONAL

Our international markets are experiencing different phases of this global pandemic and, as such, are operating within local public health and government guidance and market need.

HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD

All Hershey's Chocolate World locations are open for shopping and take-out treats with enhanced safety protocols. Please visit the Hershey's Chocolate World website for more details. We continue to follow CDC guidance for mask wearing as our Hershey's Chocolate World  locations are in various cities around the world. 

CORPORATE GIVING

To date, The Hershey Company has committed over $2 million in cash and product donations to support COVID-19 response efforts around the world. Our corporate giving team is working closely with our community nonprofit partners to ensure they are supported during this time.  Our support and community response efforts continue to evolve as needs change throughout the pandemic.

Additionally, our Hershey Company Employees 1st Fund is actively supporting Hershey employees and their families who experience severe economic hardship as a result of this situation.

Updated: February 2, 2022