Coronavirus crisis puts 32,000 Black Country jobs at risk
The Black Country could see 32,000 jobs lost by the end of the month due to the coronavirus pandemic, business leaders have warned.
The "best case scenario" figure has been sourced by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, which warns the job losses may be far higher without urgent Government intervention.
According to analysis from the Black Country Economic Intelligence Unit, 177,500 people in the region – a quarter of the working population – face an "uncertain future" once furlough finishes at the end of the month.
Matthew Lowe, policy manager for the Chamber, said: "In a best case scenario, a loss of just 20 per cent of the jobs in the Black Country region could see redundancies for 32,000 people."
The Chamber has appealed to MPs to help support as many businesses as possible to help protect jobs.
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Mr Lowe added: "We need to see stronger intervention from Government and cross party support to mitigate this potential impact as the region is significantly exposed to both the impacts of recession and now the impact of a no-deal Brexit."
Last month Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled an emergency jobs scheme to replace furlough, which will see workers get three quarters of their normal salaries for six months.
Pat McFadden, the Shadow City Minister and Wolverhampton South East MP, said: "If this warning from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce is anywhere near right then we are facing a big increase in unemployment in a month’s time.
"The package announced by the Chancellor fails the test of preventing this increase in joblessness because it offers nothing to those sectors reliant on people gathering together which can’t operate right now.
"And where people can work part time it shifts most of the cost burden to employers.
"It’s fine for the Chancellor to say people should live without fear but what will that mean to people staring down the barrel of unemployment through no fault of their own?"
Festival determined to champion business in tough times
The third annual Black Country Business Festival is being held in very different circumstances to how it was originally planned to unfold.
When planning began for the 2020 festival, which was to have taken place from May 11 to 22, coronavirus had yet to reach public awareness in the UK.
The arrival of the pandemic forced the postponement of the festival.
For some time it was not clear whether the festival, which celebrates the many and varied businesses of all shapes and sizes in the region, would take place at all in 2020.
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, which initiated the festival in 2018, said: “This has been quite a journey for us with lockdown meaning we had to postpone until October and the new restrictions meant that most physical events were now impossible, but once again Black Country businesses and our incredible sponsors have risen to this challenge and put on a hugely impressive programme of nearly 100 events.”
The steering group behind the festival organised by Associate Events, had had to work hard to shift the festival from the physical form it has taken over its first two years to an almost entirely online format. Plans to launch the festival on Monday at the brand new Resonance music institute have had to be dropped because of the restrictions. Instead, the launch at 10am will now be staged from the University of Wolverhampton on the Zoom video platform, which is being used for all online events.
The programme of varied business events runs through to October 15.
All of the events are free to attend, whether in-person, digital or hybrid (where there are limited delegates and the event is simultaneously live-streamed).
Tickets must be booked in advance through the website www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com.
Events include everything from recruitment and training staff; dealing with long term illness, diversity and mental health in the workplace; green energy and carbon reduction; to funding for culture and arts projects; the future of manufacturing and many useful professional services, digital marketing, branding and PR events.
