Virus to affect more than 1 Lakh retail jobs

More than 1 Lakh jobs are expected to be cut by retailers due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey. An Association had conducted a surveyto gauge their view on the impact of COVID-19 on their business and manpower. “Small retailers are expecting to lay off 30% of their manpower going forward, this number falls to 12% for medium (sized) retailers and 5% for large retailers. On the whole, retailers who were surveyed expect lay-offs of about 20% of their manpower.

According to the industry body, small retailers featured in the survey employ less than 100 persons and accounted for 65% of the respondents. Medium retailers have 100—1,000 employees making up for 24% of respondents, while large retailers employ over 1,000 people and accounted for 11% of the respondents.

Ever since the lockdown was imposed on March 25, more than 95% of non-food retailers have closed their outlets and are looking at practically no revenues during the period and expect to earn only about 40% of last year’s revenue in the next six months, the survey said. As for food retailers, in the next six months they expect to earn 56% as compared to last year’s revenues. With most of food retailers also selling non-essential goods in the same or different stores, the non-food business in the stores has come to a standstill during the lockdown, leading to revenue loss, it added.