City Centre Jobs Crisis Coming Up, warns Belfast Chamber
Belfast Chamber of Commerce has warned that up to half of retail and related jobs in the city centre could be lost due to Covid and its rippling, knock-on effects on the economy overall.
The organisation has launched its three tier survival plan – Protecting Lives, Protecting Livelihoods: Finding a Balance to Protect Our Community and Our Economy.
A recent survey of Chamber members showed that up to half of businesses in the city centre are preparing to make redundancies, with most reporting dramatic downturns in sales.
Dramatic downturn
CEO Simon Hamilton said: “This latest survey of Belfast Chamber members shows the scale of the jobs crisis we are facing and just how serious the situation is could get for many workers in the city”We have known since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic that we are in the midst of an interlinked public health and economic emergency.
“This latest survey of Belfast Chamber members shows the scale of the jobs crisis we are facing and just how serious the situation could get for many workers in the city.
“Our members are reporting really serious issues including a collapse in sales of an excess of 50% for four out of ten businesses.
“This is then having a knock-on effect on their cash flow situation,” he said.
The impact of the Executive’s latest lockdown is already starting to impact significantly on footfall and with NI also suffering the biggest annual decline in footfall, we can see the fragility of local city and town centres and the danger that poses to many jobs.
Economic ecosystem
“Our economy is an ecosystem and closing down one part isn’t a limited intervention – it harms us all. We need to strike a balance to protect lives and livelihoods.
“Pursuing a path of lockdown, release and repeat will undo all of the good work we have done to build a strong and diverse economy and protect workers and their families. If a vaccine for COVID-19 is still months away from being available, then we must genuinely learn to live with the virus if we want to preserve our economy and have jobs for people to return to. A different way must be found” he said.
