Northern leaders have described the government’s extension of the furlough scheme as “an insult” and a “kick in the teeth” that will not stave off the threat of economic disaster under new lockdown restrictions.
Firms whose premises are legally required to shut over winter as part of local or national restrictions will be entitled to grants to pay up to 67% of employees’ salaries up to £2,100 a month. This is less generous than the original furlough, which paid 80% of employees’ wages up to £2,500 a month, but is a higher level of taxpayer support than in Rishi Sunak’s winter economy plan announced two weeks ago.
Jim McMahon, the shadow transport secretary and MP for Oldham West and Royton, described the package as an insult. “A lockdown is a lockdown – just because it’s a local lockdown doesn’t stop the operating costs being what they were under the national lockdown, so why is this support so much less?” he said. “This is a northern intervention and they think they can get away with doing it on the cheap. That’s the beginning and end of it.”
In a joint statement, the mayors of Greater Manchester, the Sheffield and Liverpool city regions and North Tyne said: “What has been announced by the chancellor today is a start but, on first look, it would not appear to have gone far enough to prevent genuine hardship, job losses and business failure this winter. Mayors and leaders from across the north will be meeting tomorrow to discuss it in more detail and we will make a further statement then.”
On Friday evening one of Boris Johnson’s most senior aides, Eddie Lister, was calling northern leaders to discuss restrictions due to be imposed in their regions next week.
Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester city council, made an 11th-hour appeal to the government to think again about any plans to close the city’s hospitality industry, saying they posed an “existential threat” to enormous numbers of businesses and their employees and was not supported by local evidence.
Dan Jarvis, the mayor of the Sheffield city region, said he was relieved there would be some support but said it “must go much further than already planned and must be introduced faster”.
Marston's - 2,150 jobs
15 October: Marston's - the brewer which owns nearly 1,400 pubs, restaurants, cocktail bars and hotels across the UK - said it would cut 2,150 jobs due to fresh Covid restrictions. The company has more than 14,000 employees.
Whitbread - 6,000 jobs
22 September: Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, said it would cut 6,000 jobs at its hotels and restaurants, almost one in five of its workforce
Pizza Express – 1,100 jobs
7 September: The restaurant chain confirms the closure of 73 restaurants as part of a rescue restructure deal.
Costa Coffee – 1,650 jobs
3 September: The company, which was bought by Coca-Cola two years ago, is cutting up to 1,650 jobs in its cafes, more than one in 10 of its workforce. The assistant store manager role will go across all shops.
Pret a Manger – 2,890 jobs
27 August: The majority of the cuts are focused on the sandwich chain's shop workers, but 90 roles will be lost in its support centre teams. The cuts include the 1,000 job losses announced on 6 July.
Marks & Spencer – 7,000 jobs
18 August: Food, clothing and homewares retailer cuts jobs in central support centre, regional management and stores.
M&Co – 400 jobs
5 August: M&Co, the Renfrewshire-based clothing retailer, formerly known as Mackays, will close 47 of 215 stores.
WH Smith – 1,500 jobs
5 August: The chain, which sells products ranging from sandwiches to stationery, will cut jobs mainly in UK railway stations and airports.
Dixons Carphone – 800 jobs
4 August: Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone is cutting 800 managers in its stores as it continues to reduce costs.
DW Sports – 1,700 jobs at risk
3 August: DW Sports fell into administration, closing its retail website immediately and risking the closure of its 150 gyms and shops.
Marks & Spencer – 950 jobs
20 July: The high street stalwart cuts management jobs in stores as well as head office roles related to property and store operations.
Ted Baker – 500 jobs
19 July: About 200 roles to go at the fashion retailer’s London headquarters, the Ugly Brown Building, and the remainder at stores.
Azzurri – 1,200 jobs
17 July: The owner of the Ask Italian and Zizzi pizza chains closes 75 restaurants and makes its Pod lunch business delivery only
Burberry – 500 jobs worldwide
15 July: Total includes 150 posts in UK head offices as luxury brand tries to slash costs by £55m after a slump in sales during the pandemic.
Boots – 4,000 jobs
9 July: Boots is cutting 4,000 jobs – or 7% of its workforce – by closing 48 opticians outlets and reducing staff at its head office in Nottingham as well as some management and customer service roles in stores.
John Lewis – 1,300 jobs
9 July: John Lewis announced that it is planning to permanently close eight of its 50 stores, including full department stores in Birmingham and Watford, with the likely loss of 1,300 jobs.
Celtic Manor – 450 jobs
9 July: Bosses at the Celtic Collection in Newport, which staged golf's Ryder Cup in 2010 and the 2014 Nato Conference, said 450 of its 995 workers will lose their jobs.
Pret a Manger – 1,000 jobs
6 July: Pret a Manger is to permanently close 30 branches and could cut at least 1,000 jobs after suffering “significant operating losses” as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown
Casual Dining Group – 1,900 jobs
2 July: The owner of the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant chains collapsed into administration, with the immediate loss of 1,900 jobs. The company said multiple offers were on the table for parts of the business but buyers did not want to acquire all the existing sites and 91 of its 250 outlets would remain permanently closed.
Arcadia – 500 jobs
1 July: Arcadia, Sir Philip Green’s troubled fashion group – which owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis – said in July 500 head office jobs out of 2,500 would go in the coming weeks.
SSP Group – 5,000 jobs
1 July: The owner of Upper Crust and Caffè Ritazza is to axe 5,000 jobs, about half of its workforce, with cuts at its head office and across its UK operations after the pandemic stalled domestic and international travel.
Harrods – 700 jobs
1 July: The department store group is cutting one in seven of its 4,800 employees because of the “ongoing impacts” of the pandemic.
Harveys – 240 jobs
30 June: Administrators made 240 redundancies at the furniture chain Harveys, with more than 1,300 jobs at risk if a buyer cannot be found.
TM Lewin – 600 jobs
30 June: Shirtmaker TM Lewin closed all 66 of its outlets permanently, with the loss of about 600 jobs.
Monsoon Accessorize – 545 jobs
11 June: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by their founder, Peter Simon, in June, in a deal in which 35 stores closed permanently and 545 jobs were lost.
Mulberry – 470 jobs
8 June: The luxury fashion and accessories brand is to cut 25% of its global workforce and has started a consultation with the 470 staff at risk.
The Restaurant Group – 3,000 jobs
3 June: The owner of dining chains such as Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s has closed most branches of Chiquito and all 11 of its Food & Fuel pubs, with another 120 restaurants to close permanently. Total job losses could reach 3,000.
Clarks – 900 jobs
21 May: Clarks plans to cut 900 office jobs worldwide as it grapples with the growth of online shoe shopping as well as the pandemic.
Oasis and Warehouse – 1,800 jobs
30 April: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by the restructuring firm Hilco in April, with all of their stores permanently closed and 1,800 jobs lost.
Cath Kidston – 900 jobs
21 April: More than 900 jobs were cut immediately at the retro retail label Cath Kidston after the company said it was permanently closing all 60 of its UK stores.
Debenhams – 4,000 jobs
9 April: At least 4,000 jobs will be lost at Debenhams in its head office and closed stores after its collapse into administration in April, for the second time in a year.
Laura Ashley – 2,700 jobs
17 March: Laura Ashley collapsed into administration, with 2,700 job losses, and said rescue talks had been thwarted by the pandemic.
He wrote to Johnson on Friday along with the council leaders in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley, pleading for “a local lockdown lifeline” before expected additional restrictions next week. The letter urged Johnson to implement a five-point plan to support the region, “without which there will be potentially dire consequences for lives, jobs and businesses.”
Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser to the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, said he was “bemused” that the scheme would not begin until 1 November.
“These same operators were told by the PM only last month to take employees off furlough and to ‘get back to work’. It’s a kick in the teeth, but at this point, not unexpected,” he said. “It’s clear that they’ve scrambled around as a result of the backlash yesterday and straight-talking from our mayor, Andy Burnham, but going forward the government must improve their strategies, planning and communications and announce packages at the same time as restrictions.”
Lord said he was concerned that 700,000 freelancers in the hospitality industry had been left out of the package. “No financial support, no furlough, no work. We need to continue to press to make sure they are not forgotten,” he said.
Lucy Powell, a shadow business minister and the MP for Manchester Central, said she welcomed the acknowledgment from government that closed businesses needed support, but added: “The principle needs making a reality by the numbers adding up. They still don’t, unfortunately.”
Powell said closed businesses were entitled to £25,000 in Treasury support for over three months during spring. Now they would get £3,000 a month, payable every two weeks. She urged ministers to redistribute £1.3bn in unspent emergency grants to support businesses that were “closed or virtually closed” in lockdown areas.
The Labour MP Bill Esterson, whose Sefton constituency is one of the areas of Merseyside expected to face the strictest curbs next week, said: “There was nothing today for the self-employed, nothing again for those who’ve been excluded from support from the start, and nothing for businesses that aren’t forced to close but who will take a massive hit because they’re operating in areas under local restrictions.
“The chancellor’s constant flip-flopping on furlough has put jobs at risk, left workers in limbo and created a sense of chaos in the midst of a pandemic. This is serial incompetence at the heart of government.”
Henri Murison, the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the announcement would be a “huge relief” that would help support hundreds of thousands of workers across the region. “However, the help can’t stop here,” he said.
“We wrote to the chancellor today to urge more support in both the short and long term. We can’t let Covid undo all our efforts to rebalance the economy in recent years. Instead we must give local leaders more tools to meet the needs of the people who elected them and invest back into northern cities, if we are ever to achieve real levelling-up.”
