Job Losses Hit MetroWest Workers As Coronavirus Outbreak Grows

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Mark lost his job when his employer became the face of the new coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts.

For more than three years, Mark worked as a contractor for Biogen, the Cambridge-based biotech firm specializing in neurological diseases. Things were going fine until March 5, when the company revealed that several employees carrying COVID-19 had attended a large conference in February at the Marriott Long Wharf.

Mark was told to work from home that Friday, March 6, because his supervisor had contact with some conference attendees. But at the end of the day, he got the call: His contract was terminated. And in the ensuing weeks, 97 of the state's 328 positive cases had been linked to that conference as of Thursday evening.

"It was the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong company," Mark said Thursday. "All of a sudden they have this mess on their hands."

(Patch is using a pseudonym because Mark is hunting for a job in a tight-knit field)

Mark's story of a coronavirus-related job loss is just one of the thousands from across the state. The virus is destroying jobs — from restaurant employees to children's entertainers — seemingly as fast as it spreads.

Just on Monday, 20,000 Massachusetts residents filed for unemployment, more than the total number who filed in all of February. Gov. Charlie Baker has waived the normal one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits for job losses related to the new virus, but it's unclear if the state has the ability to process all the new applications.

Massage therapist Kathleen Fontaine, of Marlborough, recently lost her job when the studio she worked at in Wayland closed. She was one of the 20,000 people who applied for unemployment on Monday, but hasn't heard back yet.

Fontaine — who emphasized that her employer has been "amazing" through the COVID-19 crisis — sees some hope in idea at the federal level to send $1,000 checks to Americans, but she wants the government to go further. Suspending rent and other bills would be a bigger help.

"I am 61, and this is so difficult financially and mentally, but I'm trying to keep positive," she said.

Jennifer Storti was recently furloughed from her job at an optician's office in Natick. They are only seeing patients on an urgent need basis, and it's unclear when normal business will return. Storti can put in a few hours working from home, but not enough to supplement the normal 40-plus hours a week she works.

Even with the possible $1,000 federal payment, she wouldn't be able to cover all her bills.

"I am terrified of losing any income as I am a single mom. I am responsible for my mortgage, car payment and many other household bills,' she said. "There is no way I can live without my usual pay and make ends meet.

The Boston Ability Center, which offers pediatric rehab at offices in Natick and Wellesley, shut down over the weekend owing to safety concerns about COVID-19, Director Jan Wade said. She had to lay off 20 of her 25 staff members, and the 400 children a week who were getting treatment have been reduced to a trickle. She has committed to paying everyone's health insurance until at least May, and hopes that her employees can swiftly get unemployment.

"The worst part about all of this is the many children who are not receiving much-needed therapies and the fact that they risk not progressing or even regression in the skills," she said.

One bright spot for her business is Baker's recent order to expand telehealth in Massachusetts, which may help her reach clients — and help her pay the rent.

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Kevin Driscoll, of Framingham, faces a unique challenge. He quit a job at an internet company in 2017 to become an entertainer. He performs across Massachusetts for kids and seniors, but all of his work went away with increased social distancing because of the COVID-19 outbreak. He lost a big gig with a Cub Scouts group in Natick when the school district closed buildings to outside groups.

"I loved my new job entertaining children ages 2 to 102, the young and young at heart," he said in an email. "However, that job evaporated last week and my income is now zero."

Driscoll works alone (he jokes that he works with "a bunch of dummies" because he's a ventriloquist), and doesn't qualify for unemployment. He is worried about paying his mortgage — but he's also making the best of the situation.

This week, he began offering free singing telegrams through videoconference. He sold his first $0 virtual singing telegram to a mother in Connecticut for her daughter's 10th birthday.

"If you know anyone in a nursing home or assisted living facility or children now at home with a parent or guardian, please spread the word and #sharehope," he said (you can find clips and contact info on the Driscoll Productions website).

Mark, the former Biogen contractor, is on the hunt for work, but has noticed fewer opportunities on job boards. A company spokesperson said that Biogen did not make any cuts specifically due to COVID-19 — and has continued to pay contract workers with the Cambridge office closed — but Mark finds himself in a very different job market. He wonders how social distancing will affect the logistics of finding a job, things like in-person interviews, or meeting a new boss.

He's used to the swings of contract work, and he has applied for unemployment, although he hasn't heard anything yet. But he's more worried what happens to workers further down the line.

"No matter how much stress I may be under, there are others who are under more stress," he said. "I'm part of that pool now."