Booz Allen creates $100M COVID-19 employee fund

Booz Allen Hamilton is setting aside at least $100 million for a resilience program to support its 27,000 employees and the communities where they live and work amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Perhaps the most welcome announcement the firm made Wednesday is a pledge of job security at least through July 1 given rising unemployment figures as both the COVID-19 illness and efforts to slow its spread have in turn slowed down the economy.

Some of the funds will also go toward major benefit program enhancements related to child care, health and other COVID-related issues. Other areas of support include the company’s dependent care program, flexible work setups, training, and other options to address challenges employees face at home and support workers who are trained and certified such as firefighters or nurses.

“These moves will help protect the health and financial security of our people, their loved ones and their communities during a very uncertain, difficult time,” Booz Allen CEO Horacio Rozanski said in a release. “Supporting our people empowers them to fully support our clients in this time of critical need. Our business is our people, and this is just the right thing to do.”

Booz Allen is reallocating that $100 million from previously-planned spending items such as events, other overhead expenses and a hiring freeze in non-billable departments.

The company and the independent Booz Allen Foundation have also embarked on a coordinated philanthropic initiative that includes support to veterans and military families through the Association of Defense Communities’ COVID-19 Military Support initiative, frontline health care workers and vulnerable communities through the CDC Foundation and vulnerable populations through the Feeding America network of food banks and community-based agencies.

McLean, Virginia-based Booz Allen will also provide its technology and consulting services to help combat the effects of COVID-19, contribute to pro bono projects, make in-kind contributions and volunteer time to organizations and communities helping those in need.