To think that employers are being less than honest about Covid job losses?

[GnomeDePlume]

The Daily Telegraph has a list of major employers making job cuts described as being Covid related. A number of them I can see are directly Covid related (high street food outlets, airline industry) but others I think are more related to the general decline of high street shopping (Debbenhams and M&S have been struggling for a long time as have Kath Kidston, Laura Ashley, BrightHouse) and other changes in different industries.

Am I being unreasonable to think that some employers are badging up job losses as Covid related in the hope of getting some government help further down the line to pay for restructuring which was going to happen anyway?

for some companies, covid has made the inevitable come quicker so taking advantage of any help going may be a life line for them

It's all probably linked isn't it? If people in all those massive industries are losing their jobs then it makes sense they're not going shopping and spending money. Those companies who were already struggling due to the decline of the high Street are going to have less ability to ride the storm.

I agree that for some it has made the inevitable come quicker. For others I think that Covid and furlough gave employers the opportunity to soften the blow and also the time to think how to go about carrying out restructuring without having so much of the normal day to day business getting in the way of planning.

In the short term these job losses could be described as covid related but I agree that for places like Debenhams and Kath Kidson covid has just speeded their inevitable decline.

I was on my local small town high street yesterday and without a doubt footfall is dramatically lower but for some of the shops I have been wondering for a while why they still exist at all.

My local high street probably isnt typical in that it was never very lively. On the high street we have a Boots, a WH Smiths and an Argos. In terms of big names that is it. I suspect they are still there because their respective owners have forgotten about them.

I suppose that Covid has pushed forward the question of what is a high street for? We had an out of town retail park open a few years ago but that seemed to be 10 years too late.

I've always wondered how Kath Kidson was still around. I don't mind their stuff but it's mass produced and over priced and no one ever seems to be in the branch on my hgh street. I could buy similar stuff not much more expensive from a nice local small business. Likewse I can't think what purpose WHSmith has any more (apart from perhaps the post office part).

Our WHSmith doesnt even have a post office! I just assume that it fell off a list back at HQ. It is opposite our tiny and totally run down Boots. I guess that they both pay some tiny rent with a 1000 year lease. Possibly it would cost more to close than to keep them shuffling along.

We have an out of town Waitrose but I think that was because HQ had their socio-economic graph upside down when the decision was made (down at heel WC town with no major industry is not your typical Waitrose demographic).