On Monday, the Small Business Administration disclosed that Yeezy received a loan of more than $2 million through the Paycheck Protection Program intended to keep small businesses from having to lay off employees as a result of financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. These loans can be forgiven if the company that receives them uses them for eligible costs, but that forgiveness reduces if the company chops full-time jobs, or slashes payroll by more than 25 percent.
The news regarding Yeezy came after the SBA unveiled a list of companies that had applied for (and received) their funds. This list was originally intended to be confidential, but it was made public after several Democrats had demanded that the process have more transparency. In response, a spreadsheet (which you can find here) listed companies that got more than $150,000 from the program.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the administration said the loan to Yeezy was somewhere within the $2-5 million range.
The SBA estimated that their loan to the company saved 106 jobs.
THR goes on to write that the PPP, which was passed in May, made most companies with fewer than 500 employees eligible for the loans. That said, several big name companies, including Shake Shack, Ruth Chris's Steakhouse, and even the Lakers, received public criticism for getting the government backed money. Subsequently those companies returned the funds.
In addition to Yeezy (which it should be noted has been valued in excess of $1.2 billion) CBS News reports a number of other fashion companies/designers that got PPP loans in the same ballpark as Kanye's company. Those companies include: shirt retailer Untuckit (who got between $5 and $10 million), Iconix Brand Group (who owns the Joe Boxer and Ed Hardy brands), suitmaker Hickey Freeman, and designers Oscar de la Renta, and Vera Wang.
