Jobs placed at risk during the COVID crisis

Dozens of UK companies have announced job cuts or put roles at risk due to the COVID crisis. As expected, the worst impacted sectors are travel and hospitality, but job losses will sadly be widespread across many industries.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, with the ensuing lockdown forcing businesses to close and furlough millions of employees, a steady stream of job cuts have been announced by companies struggling in the crisis.

Unsurprisingly, the travel and hospitality sectors have been the worst hit, with companies such as Tui, the Restaurant Group and Cineworld placing several thousand jobs at risk. The aviation industry has also announced cuts, with British Airways planning to cut 9,000 jobs. 

All sectors have been impacted by the crisis, and some of the largest announced job cuts have come from BP and Shell. The impact of lockdown on the retail sector are also reflected widespread cuts at household names such as Boots and Marks and Spencer. 

The recent extension of the government’s furlough scheme until March 2021 meant that the feared flood of job losses did not materialise this autumn, but the economic damage already done may mean that that cuts have simply been delayed.

While the jobs cuts presented here give an indication of the impact on different sectors, they do not give the full picture of the scale of planned job losses, as they do not include planned cuts by privately owned companies.