Redundancies planned for October were more than twice 2019’s rate, as business confidence was battered by the pandemic.
Freedom of Information figures obtained by the BBC and revealed today (Nov 27) show that 842 employers told the Insolvency Service they planned to axe at least 20 staff last month, putting 51,000 jobs at risk.
That was nearly two and a half times the number last year.
Pret a Manger, Manchester Airport, Greene King and Marston’s were among the firms that announced redundancy plans.
But although the figures were much higher than last year, they were actually lower than for June, July and September, said the BBC.
Covid-19 infection levels rocketed during October, leading the government to announce an England-wide second national lockdown at the end of the month.
Businesses are legally obliged to give the Insolvency Service – which is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – advance notice of potential redundancies where more than 20 staff are to be dismissed in a ‘single establishment’.
However, they may not end up making the same number of jobs redundant, nor do the figures include information about job losses from smaller firms.
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