Dozens of Companies are Returning Paycheck Protection Program Funds

As the details of the (PPP) Paycheck Protection Program are changed on the fly, things aren’t looking to good for business owners, as the country remains locked down.

The Payment Protection Program of the CARES Act was created to help small business owners keep their businesses running, by assisting with their costs (rent, utilities, payroll, mortgage interest) and keep their employees engaged in the workforce. The federal government is backing $349 billion in Small Business Administration-provided loans that are meant to float the payroll of SMBs across the country until social distancing measures are eased, or another stimulus package is passed.

The program’s implementation has drawn the ire of critics with its mystifying details, and for good reason. Crashing web portals and extremely sluggish wait times have made the entire process stressful and exhausting. Beyond the application process, the PPP has a number of other pitfalls, and while the program will be a lifeboat for some small business owners, but will only put other further in debt.

Probably why various companies are returning their PPP funds.

Companies that have reported they are returning their funds.

1. Shake Shack returned a $10 million loan; it was the first company to do so.
2. Salad chain Sweetgreen also pledged to return its $10 million loan.
3. Ruth’s Hospitality Group, owner of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, will give back $20 million.
4. Potbelly, the popular sandwich chain, pledged to return its $10 million.
5. Singapore-based biotech firm Wave Life Sciences gave back its $7.2 million.
6. U.S. restaurant chain Kura Sushi will return $6 million.
7. Pharmaceutical maker OptiNose, Inc. returned $4.4 million, restaurant chain J. Alexander’s $15.1 million.
8. BK Technologies Corp. returned $2.1 million.
9. Ballantyne Strong returned $3.1 million.
10. Ultralife Corp. returned $3.4 million.
11. Aquestive Therapeutics, another pharmaceutical company, returned $4.8 million.
12. Hot dog maker Nathan’s Famous will return $1.2 million.
13. CalAmp Corp. returned $10 million.
14. Hallmark Financial Services returned $8.3 million.
15. IDT Corp. returned $10 million.
16. The Los Angeles Lakers will return $4.6 million.
17. DMC Global, which makes equipment for the oil industry, returned $6.7 million.
18. AutoNation, a network of car dealerships, will give back $77 million.
19. Legacy Housing Corp. will give back $6.7 million.
20. Manning & Napier, a wealth management firm, rescinded its $6.7 million  loan application before receiving the money.
21. News site Axios said it will return its $4.8 million loan.