200 jobs at risk here as car sales plummet
A CO Antrim teacher is gearing up to pay a special visit to his pupils this weekend in a bid to lift their spirits and also raise funds for the NHS.
David Alcorn, a teacher at Templepatrick Primary School for the past 25 years, is embarking on a 70-mile journey on Saturday during which he will visit all 32 houses of his P7 pupils and classroom assistants.
During the last 10 weeks of lockdown, David (51) has been keeping in contact with each of the pupils via Google Classroom but he has missed seeing them in the classroom everyday.
“I randomly cycled past the home of one of the pupils a few weeks ago and waved at her,” he explained.
“Her mum said it would be a good idea if I did for all of them so it stemmed from there.
“I wanted to do something to get me fit and cheer me up but hopefully to also bring a smile to the face of each of my amazing pupils, while also raising money for our fabulous NHS,” he said.
David and his wife Sarah have many reasons to be grateful to those working on the frontline of healthcare, both having sadly lost parents in recent weeks.
AROUND 200 jobs are at risk at Charles Hurst dealerships across Northern Ireland as car sales continue to face a near wipe-out during lockdown.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said there had been just 144 new cars sold in the province in May, down from around 4,900 in May 2019.
Car dealers have been closed during lockdown but are permit
“Everyone working for the NHS is being utterly incredible right now, but this has always been the case,” he said.
“Carers enabled both my dad and mum to remain at home while unwell, right until the end.
“My mum passed away in early March, just before the lockdown, after a battle with dementia and what her carers did for her was just incredible.
“They also did an amazing job for my father-in-law in England, who was diagnosed with Covid-19, recovered but then sadly passed away on April 30.
“His carers not only looked after him but were also great at organising video calls for us so he could hear us and we could see him,” David said.
“They pretty much brought my mother-in-law back to life a few years back after she spent several weeks in an intensive care unit, during which we had a ‘gather the family’ phone call from them. ted to reopen from Monday. The SMMT figures come as Charles Hurst’s parent company Lookers plc announced around 1,500 jobs among its 8,100 staff around the UK were at risk of redundancy. The group revealed it will shut 12 sites — either by closure, merging with other showrooms or re-franchising.
The scale of cuts is likely to place around 200 of its 1,100 staff in 42 dealerships around Northern Ireland at risk.
However, Lookers would not confirm how many jobs here
“My mother-in-law is now back to her strong, independent self thanks to the NHS so I can’t thank everyone involved in the NHS enough.
“It has been a difficult few weeks for us as a family, in particular for Sarah because she couldn’t travel over to England for her father’s funeral.”
David says being able to get out on his bike and prepare for the cycle has been a help.
“I haven’t done any serious cycling since 1990 when I took part in the Belfast-dublin Maracycle.
“Like many people I rediscovered cycling over recent weeks as part of my daily exercise,” he said.
With all that in mind, David will set off from his home in Ballyclare around 8am on Saturday, and cycle to the home of each of his pupils for a wave and a smile — all while remaining within government guidelines and maintaining a safe social distance.
For several weeks he has were in jeopardy, nor how many dealerships around Northern Ireland might be affected.
The moves will cut costs by about £50m per year, Lookers said.
Recently appointed chief executive Mark Raban said: “We have taken the decision to restructure the size of the group’s dealership estate to position the business for a sustainable future, which regrettably means redundancy consultation with a number of our colleagues.”
Ulster Bank chief economist been posting regular updates of his training on Facebook and Youtube, using the hashtag #ABC4NHS (Alcorn’s Big Cycle for the NHS).
He has also received video messages of support from, among others, former Northern Ireland manager Michael O’neill, players Josh Magennis and Paddy Mcnair, and Give My Head Peace actor Marty Reid.
Saturday’s route will take David to Glengormley, Doagh, Parkgate, Templepatrick, Muckamore, Antrim and more, over many hours and along several mountain roads.
“I have no idea how long it is going to take but I’m just hopeful for some good weather. Gimme a wave or a beep or a shout if you see me,” he added.
David’s fundraising for the NHS currently stands at £3,500 but he is grateful for any donations which can be made to his page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ david-alcorn
Richard Ramsey said that car showrooms had sold around 190 new cars a day during May last year. But he said that with 24 sold in April, far fewer had been sold in the last two months.
“Given how subdued demand currently is, job losses in the sector are inevitable.”
He said dealers were looking forward to reopening on Monday: “In the months ahead we will see whether there is pent-up demand or whether consumer behaviours have changed. Both are likely to be true.”
NO hearty handshake from a salesperson and no fancy coffee as you listen to their pitch — buying a new car is going to be very different.
Signs at Isaac Agnew showrooms around Belfast, Newtownabbey and Portadown will remind customers of the no-handshake rule and the need for social distancing.
Car showrooms are permitted to open from Monday and Isaac Agnew managing director Yuile Magee has said the new era is the biggest change in how cars have been sold in his 40 years in the industry.
While the company’s showrooms have been closed in lockdown, it has continued to sell online, including six Porsches, with two of these new models retailing at £124,000.
But the company has also fielded many queries from customers who have fallen on hard times during lockdown and want to take payment holidays from their personal contract plans.
Outlining the changes, Mr Magee (above) said that from Monday customers will be expected to keep their distance from salespeople, and test drive cars by themselves.
Vehicles will be cleaned between drives and a plastic seal applied to doors after cleaning to make it clear they are safe.
Mr Magee said the company’s insurance policy permitted lone test drives, although they had be along designated routes.
He added: “We’ll also have customers’ driving licence details, and we already know a lot of our customers already.”
They will exercise discretion and will not allow a teenager to test drive a Porsche, however.
Touch-points of the cars will also be sanitised between drives and customers will be offered personal protective equipment (PPE).
Eamon Bell of dealership Bell’s in Crossgar said customers will no longer have the freedom to wander in and out of the showroom.
“Everything will be cleaned and disinfected and we are planning to implement an appointment-only system to begin with to give us time to disinfect desks, tables and cars afterwards before the next customer,” he said.
Confident of a good start, he added: “All the signs have been positive and at the minute I’m seeing plenty of demand. Used car sales will be okay but new car sales might take a wee bit longer to come back.”
Mr Magee, meanwhile, said car sales had accelerated after lockdown in some territories.
“We’d be hopeful that would be the case here, but if there’s a really bad recession that might reverse it in the UK,” he said. “Initially there will be pent-up demand, which we will meet, but by August, September or October things will be more clear for the long-term picture.”
The MD at Isaac Agnew believes manufacturers will offer generous finance plans to shift cars. He added: “They will need to find market share and homes for the cars they are producing.
“In 2009 after the crash we had a really good year because of the offers manufacturers came up with, so who knows.”
However, he said the factory shutdown across Europe meant many deliveries were now delayed. He is sorry the company has had to shelve some of its customer service features.
“We’ve always worked hard on having good coffee, newspapers, magazines, friendly staff and flowers. But now we have to reduce that,” he explained.
“Our staff will be happy to be back in work and will make customers welcome. It may not be just the same as before, but we will have nice hosts and hostesses to receive people and take them through the process.”
During the day the company’s ‘cleaning champions’ will check that procedures are being carried out properly.
“I’ve spent more time on this than anything else in a long time to make sure we’ve done it right,” Mr Magee added.