CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sherwin-Williams announced it will resume matching contributions to its 401(k) retirement plan effective Feb. 1 after temporarily pausing the benefit in October.

The paint and coatings company will also provide employees with a discretionary makeup contribution to compensate for the four-month pause.

In a message to employees, company Chair, President and CEO Heidi Petz said the decision to restore the match earlier than initially anticipated came after strong employee performance and more moderate economic headwinds than expected. The company had temporarily suspended the match while navigating its third consecutive year of a housing recession, along with soft demand in other markets and uncertainty about tariff impacts.

“The decision to temporarily pause the match was a deliberate one made by your leadership team and was guided by the same long-term lens that has guided Sherwin-Williams for 160 years: protect the strength of the company, preserve our culture and safeguard future opportunities of our people,” Petz said in an email to workers. “I also recognize that the temporary pause created real concern and personal uncertainty for many of you and your families.

Petz said the company faced a choice between pursuing workforce reductions or temporarily pausing the 401(k) match. Sherwin-Williams opted to suspend the match rather than implement widespread layoffs.

“While many companies chose widespread layoffs, we chose a different path,” Petz says in the email. “We chose to protect jobs, retain talent and invest in the long-term health of our organization by keeping our teams intact.”

Petz credited employees with elevating their performance during the past four months. She also said some anticipated risks did not materialize or proved less severe than expected.

Petz still cautioned that economic challenges remain.

“Our industry is at an inflection point and Sherwin-Williams is exceptionally well positioned to lead,” she says in the email. “What we can control, and have proven we do well, is execution, customer service, and discipline. I have full confidence that we will do exactly that.”

Sherwin-Williams is headquartered in Cleveland. It has more than 5,000 stores and employs more than 64,000 people worldwide.