A study co-carried out by Adecco with 2,000 British employers indicates that a third of them expect to be laid off by the end of September due to the coronavirus crisis.
The economic crisis resulting from the pandemic has already caused many layoffs in the UK.
KEYSTONE
One in three companies in the United Kingdom intends to cut jobs in the third quarter, according to a study published on Monday, raising fears of a wave of social plans in the country while the withdrawal of the partial unemployment scheme is expected in a few months.
In total, 33% of the 2,000 employers surveyed expect to lay off by the end of September, underlines this study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the temporary working group Adecco.
This is a sharp increase from the 22% recorded in the previous poll, unveiled last May.
Less generous partial unemployment
The economic crisis resulting from the pandemic brings almost every day its share of bad news in the country, where layoffs are increasing, especially in commerce and restaurants, which have been hit hard by the pandemic.
The partial unemployment scheme, in place since March to limit social damage, is now a little less generous. Since August 1, companies have been called upon for part of the cost. Until now the government has paid 80% of the salary, up to 2,500 pounds. And beyond that, it is the withdrawal of the device at the end of October that worries companies.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak seemed to rule out a renewal of the device last week, which is also very costly for public finances. The Labor opposition calls for it not to abandon the most fragile sectors.
Thousands of positions already crossed out
More than 22,000 restaurant jobs have been cut since the start of the year, twice as many as for 2019 as a whole, a study by the Center for Retail Research, a retail firm, revealed on Monday.
It also shows that 1,467 restaurants have closed, an increase of 59.1% compared to the whole of 2019.
Last week, Italian restaurant chain Pizza Express announced a restructuring involving the loss of 1,100 jobs.
This is in addition to the bankruptcy filings of Italian restaurants Carluccio’s, the Casual Dining Group, which owns the Café Rouge and Bella Italia chains, and the Byron hamburger brand.
“On your knees”
The sector, and restaurant chains in particular, “was already in great difficulty before the pandemic because of development on a too large scale after their buyout by investment funds,” warns Joshua Hamfield, director of the Center for Retail Research. “The forced confinement deprived them of turnover, bringing restaurants to their knees,” he adds.
The government is trying to give them a boost in August with a 500 million pound plan, which consists of subsidizing 50% of the bill in restaurants, up to 10 pounds per person, from Monday to Wednesday.
The attendance of all downtown shops has also jumped last week, with the launch of the device, compared to the previous one, with an increase of 18.9% after 6:00 p.m. and 9.6% at lunch time (between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.), indicates the Springboard firm on Monday. But store attendance was generally a third lower than in 2019.
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