Britain’s largest companies are cutting tens of thousands of jobs. Millions more are at risk

The final steps came on Monday from oil companies BP (BP) manufacturer of luxury goods Mulberry, who said it would cut them 15% and 25% of their world workforces, respectively. It translates to 10,000 jobs in BP and 350 at Mulberry.

British Airways (ICAGY) is reducing 12,000 jobsor more than a quarter of the workforce, in response to a sharp drop in travel demand during a pandemic. Rival carriers EasyJet (ESYJY) and The Virgin Atlantic will drive away 4500 and 3,000 positions, respectively, while an engineering and aerospace company Rolls Royce (RYCEF) is cutting 9,000 jobs, Parts Supplier Meggitt (MEGGF) reduces its workforce by about 1800.

Niche manufacturers are also hard hit, with jobs located at Bentley (1,000), McLaren (1,200) and Aston Martin (500). HSBC (HBCYF) in February it announced it would cut 35,000 jobs, but has since put most of those redundancies on hold to avoid forcing workers to look for new jobs during the pandemic.

The British government’s data so far has not attracted hundreds of thousands of jobs that could likely be cut in April.

The UK unemployment rate remained below 4% in March, official figures show. But weather indicators that include April give the impression of an impending job crisis. The number of workers on the company’s payrolls fell by more than 450,000 between March and April, government figures show.

The worst is almost certain to come.

Approximately 8.7 million workers in the UK are registered as part of a program in which the government covers 80% of their salaries. But with support cut off from August to the end of the program in October, and if companies face falling demand, companies may struggle to find work for many employees who laugh when they return.

“Business leaders know that government support can’t be endless, but it’s an ugly truth that if money doesn’t come in the door, many companies will be forced to make tough decisions by August,” Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, said late last month. .

Andrew Wishart, an economist from the UK, Capital Economics, wrote last month that he expects the unemployment rate to rise to 9% in the coming months. “Most of that jump should be reversed quickly once the labor blockade is lifted, but we still expect the unemployment rate to remain elevated over the next few years,” he said.