At least 10,000 jobs have been slashed in the UK in just 48 hours as companies battle to stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis.
High-street retailers and the aviation sector are “bearing the brunt of the losses” as the economic impact of the pandemic continues to be felt, says The Times.
SSP, the parent company of Upper Crust, announced yesterday that 5,000 employees were being made redundant, while John Lewis, Harrods and Philip Green’s Arcadia, which owns Topshop, confirmed a total of around 1,200 job losses.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Harrods managing director Michael Ward pointed to both social distancing measures and the “devastation in international trade” when explaining the company’s decision to cut around 14% of its 4,800-strong workforce.
The news came less than 24 hours after plane-maker Airbus announced 1,700 staff cuts in the UK, and easyJet shared “plans to pull out of Stansted, Southend and Newcastle Airports, possibly putting more than 700 jobs at risk”, reports ITV News.
Aviation firms are in the midst of “the gravest crisis the industry has ever experienced”, said Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury.
Meanwhile, menswear company TM Lewin collapsed into administration, costing 600 jobs, with furniture store Harveys also going under, resulting in 240 redundancies.
A further 900 cuts were announced at management consulting firm Accenture, while 300 redundancies are being made across Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, according to the BBC.
And many more job losses are expected as other companies seek to reduce costs ahead of the winding down of the government’s furlough scheme.
The Bank of England has predicted unemployment rates may hit 10% by the end of this year, reports the Financial Times.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
Bolton indictment: Retribution or justice?Feature Trump’s former national security adviser turned critic, John Bolton, was indicted for mishandling classified information after publishing his ‘tell-all’ memoir
-
Chicago: Scenes from a city under siegeFeature Chicago is descending into chaos as masked federal agents target people in public spaces and threaten anyone who tries to document the arrests
-
Young Republicans: Does the GOP have a Nazi problem?Feature Leaked chats from members of the Young Republican National Federation reveal racist slurs and Nazi jokes
-
What are stablecoins, and why is the government so interested in them?The Explainer With the government backing calls for the regulation of certain cryptocurrencies, are stablecoins the future?
-
What's Jeff Bezos' net worth?In Depth The Amazon tycoon and third richest person in the world made his fortune pioneering online retail
-
'Brain drain' fear as record numbers leave New ZealandUnder The Radar Neighbouring Australia is luring young workers with prospect of better jobs
-
Boeing releases safety plan to skeptical FAASpeed Read The Federal Aviation Administration demanded the plan after a door blew out on a Max 737 flight
-
Are we getting a 'hard landing' after all?Today's Big Question Signs of economic slowdown raise concerns 'soft landing' declarations were premature
-
Ghost kitchens are pulling a disappearing actunder the radar The delivery-only trend is failing to live up to the hype built up during the pandemic
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issuesIn the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
-
The birth of the weekend: how workers won two days offThe Explainer Since the 1960s, there has been talk of a four-day-week, and post-pandemic work patterns have strengthened those calls
