Category Archives: Job losses

Bleak future for Crawley a year after first Covid lockdown

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The town in the shadow of Gatwick airport hopes the worst of the pandemic is over but fears for its jobs

The differences with the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic are stark in Crawley. Plenty of people are milling around Queens Square in the town centre, enjoying the early spring sun, even though most of the shops remain closed; some permanently.

In the West Sussex town close to Gatwick airport, hopes are rising that the worst days of the pandemic have finally passed. But with global air travel still grounded, workers in Crawley fear there will be long-term damage for the local jobs market.

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A year of Covid crisis: a glimmer of economic hope at the end of the tunnel

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Twelve months after the pandemic struck the Guardian’s economic tracker reveals real risk of lasting damage

When Boris Johnson announced the first stay-at-home order, effectively shutting down whole sections of the economy, it was hoped the tide could be turned within 12 weeks. As many months later, lockdown measures are being relaxed for a third time and Britain still faces a lengthy road to recovery from the worst recession for 300 years.

As restrictions ease, the chief economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, warned that despite the reopening of the economy, the risk of a “jobs equivalent of long Covid” remains for workers across the country.

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Covid leaves 6m UK small businesses and 16m jobs in ‘precarious position’

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Survey finds nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs believe their business may not survive pandemic

An estimated 6m small businesses in the UK supporting 16.6m jobs are in a financially precarious position as a result of the pandemic, a London business school has warned.

Nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs felt their business might not survive the pressures of Covid-19, while more than half predicted they would run out of money within the next 12 months, according to the new study from King’s Business School.

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National Trust to cut 1,300 jobs as a result of Covid-19 crisis

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More than 500 compulsory redundancies as charity aims for annual savings of £100m

Almost 1,300 jobs are to be lost at the National Trust as a result of the coronavirus crisis, but the charity said it had more than halved the number of compulsory redundancies it expected to make.

A union has described the job losses as “devastating” for people affected but also called the plan “a reasonable way to move forward”.

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Summer spending boosted Britain but winter job cuts have yet to bite

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Reductions in government support as the original furlough scheme ends point towards a brutal round of redundancies

The UK economy continued its rapid rebound from the depths of the coronavirus lockdown in August, the latest official data on growth is expected to show on Friday, but many economists are braced for a grim winter as job losses mount.

The Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, predicted last week that GDP would be “only around 3-4% below its pre-Covid level” by the end of the third quarter, covering July to September.

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What’s missing from the chancellor’s new scheme to save jobs?

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Five measures absent from the chancellor’s winter economy plan

Rishi Sunak’s winter economy plan prioritises additional support for “viable” jobs. However, critics have warned that other measures are still needed to help people who have already lost their jobs or will lose them despite the new government scheme.

Here are five measures that could help keep workers in jobs, but were missing from the chancellor’s winter economy plan:

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Rolls-Royce reports record £5.4bn loss as Covid-19 hits aviation

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Several production sites to close after slump in demand for jet engines

The jet engine maker Rolls-Royce made a record loss of £5.4bn in the first half of the year, after the collapse in international travel during the pandemic led to to a slump in demand.

The Derby-based company said it had originally expected to manufacture 450 engines during 2020 but now planned to deliver only 250.

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Covid-19: UK economy plunges into deepest recession since records began

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GDP falls 20.4% – the worst of any G7 nation in the three months to June

Britain has entered the deepest recession since records began as official figures on Wednesday showed the economy shrank by more than any other major nation during the coronavirus outbreak in the three months to June.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell in the second quarter by 20.4% compared with the previous three months – the biggest quarterly decline since comparable records began in 1955.

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BA begins to carry out its ‘fire and rehire’ threat to jobs

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As airline moves to cut 12,000 jobs, senior crew told they will get 80% of current basic pay

British Airways has started carrying out its threat to fire and rehire thousands of workers – days after unions joined talks with a plan to save jobs.

Long-serving cabin crew were served notice this week to either accept an enhanced redundancy package within three weeks, or risk losing it by reapplying for a similar job at much lower pay.

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Virgin Atlantic agrees £1.2bn rescue deal amid coronavirus slump

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Investors pump in funds, loans and deferrals alongside Branson’s £200m injection

Virgin Atlantic has announced a £1.2bn rescue deal to allow Sir Richard Branson’s grounded passenger airline to survive another 18 months and aim to return to profit in 2022, after four months without scheduled flights.

The privately funded recapitalisation package, a combination of cash injections, loans, and deferrals, was finally confirmed on Tuesday after weeks of talks with potential investors, after Virgin’s attempts to garner state support were rebuffed.

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‘As if we were the disease’: coronavirus brings prejudice for Italy’s Chinese workers

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Xenophobia and job losses prompt textile industry staff in Tuscany to consider returning to China

At the beginning of February, Ilaria Santi, a councillor in the Italian city of Prato, in Tuscany, visited the canteen of an elementary school. A Chinese girl asked her: “Aren’t you afraid of eating next to me?”

“I replied: ‘Why should I be afraid?’ and she said: ‘Afraid that I infect you with the coronavirus.’” I replied that the virus was unfortunately in the minds of too many people,” said Santi.

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BA says jobs will go as airline industry faces crisis ‘worse than 9/11’

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Coronavirus memo says British Airways will be ‘parking aircraft in a way we never have before’

British Airways has warned staff it is in a fight for survival and expects to make job cuts and ground an unprecedented number of planes, as it said the coronavirus pandemic has caused a crisis “worse than 9/11” for the airline industry.

BA’s chief executive, Alex Cruz, said in a message to 45,000 employees entitled “The Survival of British Airways” that the airline would be “parking aircraft in a way we never have before” after the drop in demand was compounded by the shock US travel ban from Europe announced on Wednesday night. It came as the German media reported that the country’s flagship carrier, Lufthansa, might ground most of its fleet and ask for state aid in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise move.

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HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs worldwide as profits plunge

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Bank warns of ‘meaningful’ job losses in UK and of impact of coronavirus outbreak in Asia

HSBC has said it will slash 35,000 jobs over three years as part of a major shake-up as it issued a warning over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Asia.

The interim chief executive, Noel Quinn, confirmed on Tuesday that plans to cut $4.5bn (£3.5bn) worth of costs would involve slashing about 15% of the group’s global workforce. “We would expect our headcount to decrease from the current level of 235,000 to be closer to 200,000 in 2022,” Quinn said.

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Daimler to axe at least 10,000 jobs worldwide

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Mercedes-Benz owner bids to slash €1bn from wage bill as industry switches towards electric vehicles

Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler has announced plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide in the latest sign of stress in the German automotive industry as it invests billions in electric cars.

Daimler, which also makes lorries, vans and buses, said in a statement on Friday it planned to cut “thousands of jobs” by the end of 2022, but later made it clear the toll would be higher.

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UK government agrees £300m rescue package for British Steel

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New funds thought to be enough to secure a sale to widening list of interested private bidders

The government has moved to rescue British Steel with a financial support package worth as much as £300m that ministers believe will be enough to secure backing from a private bidder.

It is understood that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has agreed to substantially increase support to bidders for British Steel, which employs more than 4,000 people, after months of wrangling following the company’s collapse into administration.

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BMW boss urges Boris Johnson to abandon no-deal Brexit

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German carmaker’s CEO offers to travel to London to deliver message to PM saying ‘listen to business’

The boss of BMW has urged Boris Johnson to respond to calls from business to find a compromise on Brexit – and offered to travel to the UK to deliver the message to the prime minister in person.

Speaking as the German carmaker reported falling profits due to its investment in electric vehicles, BMW chief executive Harald Krüger said it would be a “lose-lose” scenario if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

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Nissan plans to axe 12,500 jobs worldwide, carmaker reveals

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Japanese motor giant refuses to say where cuts will fall as it seeks to revive flagging fortunes

Nissan said it would cut 12,500 jobs globally over the next three years as the Japanese carmaker tries to revive its business after profit was almost wiped out in the first quarter of its financial year.

The company, which employs about 8,000 people in the UK and 139,000 worldwide, did not disclose where the job cuts would fall. The cuts are bigger than expected after it emerged on Wednesday that at least 10,000 jobs would go.

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