March sales figures were dreadful as a number of automakers saw massive declines due to the coronavirus.

Those numbers are expected to drop even further this month as more states announce stay-at-home orders, while other extend existing orders.

With this is mind, the United States’ largest chain of dealerships that operates in 325 locations has announced massive layoffs. In an SEC filing noticed by Reuters, AutoNation said the “COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted” its operations and is expected to continue doing so.

Also Read: U.S. Auto Sales Plummet Amid Coronavirus Pandemic – Mazda, Hyundai And VW Post March Declines Greater Than 40%

The company went on to say approximately 95% of their total revenue comes from places currently under lockdown and this has significantly restricted their sales activities. They went on to say sales of new and used vehicles dropped roughly 50% during the last two weeks of March and even their parts and service business is under performing despite being available to customers.

Given all of this, the company has forced approximately 7,000 employees to take unpaid leave. They’ve also frozen new hiring and temporarily reduced base pay. That’s obviously bad news for employees as they’ll join the 6.6 million who applied for unemployment benefits last week.

Management will also feel some pain as CEO Cheryl Miller and Executive Chairman Mike Jackson will see their salaries reduced by 50%. Also taking cuts are Executive Vice Presidents (35%), Senior Vice Presidents and Region Presidents (30%) as well as remaining corporate and region staff (20%).

Besides the human toll, AutoNation is slashing approximately 50% of their advertising for the second quarter and reducing their discretionary spending. They’ve also postponed over $50 (£40.1 / €46.3) million in capital expenditures as an attempt to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on their finances.