The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected how we live, interact, and do business. The urgent and unanticipated need for social distancing, while imperative for stopping the spread of the virus, has created significant economic challenges across the board. More than 20 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past month, and many more are at risk in the months ahead.

Small businesses are at particularly high risk. Without the size, scale, and diversity of work that benefit large corporations, many of these companies are facing serious threats to their viability as the crisis stretches on.

SAIC is proud of its longstanding commitment to our small business partners. These businesses are essential for maintaining a robust, dynamic contractor ecosystem, and they play a pivotal role in the supply chain required to meet the unique needs of government customers. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re taking additional steps to ensure that these small businesses have the resources they need to endure this difficult time.

As a first step in the process, we are accelerating payments to our affected small business partners. We want to ensure that they have the cash flow to meet payroll, cover rent, and, most important, continue to play their critical roles in supporting the missions of our customers.

We also want to make sure that employees who cannot work remotely remain safe while on the job. To that end, we’re providing thousands of reusable face masks to our small business partners in need, so that they can comply with CDC guidelines and protect themselves and those around them.

Our procurement team and the SAIC Small Business Program Office are eager to help small business partners who have questions or need assistance regarding their current partnerships with SAIC. We encourage those seeking help to reach out to their designated SAIC points of contact, and we will do everything possible to offer our support.