TLI Staff
New Delhi: Our operations have been curtailed very substantially following the Coronavirus threat and need for social distancing. All CMIE offices will be shut from March 21 through the week of March 23, 2020. They may continue to remain shut till March 31, 2020, pops up the meassage as soon as you click the website of research and data analysis firm Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt Ltd (CMIE).
There are thousands of firms in the country like CMIE which have scaled down their operations and directed employees to work from home in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.
As economic uncertainty continues due to rising number of Coronavirus (Covid-19) positive cases, pay cuts and pink slips await thousands of workers across various sectors with demand plummeting, export orders on hold and falling capacity utilisation in factories.
The worst-hit sectors such as airlines, restaurants and hotels have already witnessed firms cutting staff salaries and sending employees home.
The three major airlines IndiGo, GoAir and Air India have asked employees to take pay cuts besides sending many temporary and contractual staff on leave without pay.
In a report this week, Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said that the reduced scale of operations by airlines could impact the requirement for around 30 per cent of airline staff and up to 50 per cent of ground handing staff.
“For the first couple of months this could potentially be handled through mandatory leave and leave-without-pay initiatives for 1-2 months. But should the situation continue beyond a few weeks, it will quickly result in short-term retrenchment – with the prospect of re-employment once the situation improves,” the advisory firm said.
The situation could worsen as and when firms in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector start retrenchment to adjust their production with the demand. Director of a Haryana-based manufacturer of aluminium utensils said that he had already directed some staff to not come to work in a bid to save on salary cost.
“Retrenchment has already started. The MSME sector is already cash starved and disruptions caused by Coronavirus spread has made things worse. If situation does not improve in the next 15-20 days, many firms would have to take drastic steps including reduction in staff strength,” the executive said.
Another manufacturer said that Prime Minister has appealed for not cutting wages and salaries but they had no choice given the worsening financial health in the wake of dwindling business activities.
“Besides exports, our domestic supply has also been affected. The buyers are asking to hold on supply for at least 15 days or till the situation improves,” the executive said.
Concerned over reduced trade and subdued business sentiments, the government is preparing an emergency relief package for the industry especially the MSME sector which had earlier suffered the double whammy of demonetisation and roll-out of goods and services tax (GST).
Many countries such as US, UK, Germany, France and Singapore have announced aid for helping their local industry. The support includes tax concessions, moratorium on loan repayment, direct fund transfers to individuals and deferring payment of statutory dues.