Indiana company Escalade to return Paycheck Protection Program loan
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indiana company is returning its government loan.
After an I-Team 8 investigation shed light on three public companies in Indiana that got Paycheck Protection Program loans intended for small businesses, one is backtracking.
Escalade Inc., based in Evansville, on Tuesday filed paperwork with federal regulators to give back more than $5 million.
The Paycheck Protection Program loans were designed to help small businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The loans are to cover payroll as long as the companies promised not to cut jobs.
A massive outcry started when people found out large, publicly traded companies including Ruth’s Chris and Shake Shack also got loans.
The Paycheck Protection Program provides loans to what are considered small businesses, defined generally as having less than 500 employees or based on average annual revenue. The Associated Press found three publicly traded Indiana companies that got the loans: media conglomerate Emmis Communications, coal company Hallador Energy, and Escalade.
Escalade is returning its $5.6 million loan. The company makes sports equipment with a plant in southwestern Indiana. Escalade released this statement:
“Our focus is to protect the health and livelihood of our employees while serving our customers and the communities in which we operate. We applied for a PPP loan at a time of great uncertainty for our business – and, at the time, our application fulfilled all the requirements of the program. Although Covid-19 continues to create substantial uncertainty and hardship throughout the world, we repaid our loan as a result of new guidelines from the Small Business Administration (SBA). We appreciate the opportunity provided by the SBA and look forward to the future success of our country and our Company.”
A spokesperson for Emmis Communications told News 8 that the media group expects to use the Paycheck Protection Program loan for its intended purpose, to employ 238 Hoosiers without reducing salaries.
The Small Business Association says it’s changed the program in the latest round of loans approved by Congress and President Donald Trump so that small businesses move to the head of the line for consideration.