Larger businesses not feeling the love

The tourism and hospitality sectors have welcomed the Government’s $12.1 billion coronavirus rescue package but are worried that there is insufficient help for larger businesses.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) chief executive Chris Roberts said the substantial package would provide much-needed relief for small businesses.

But he said jobs were still very much under threat because the disappointingly low cap for wage subsidies did not address the needs of larger companies.

‘‘That $150,000 is roughly equivalent to 20 jobs. We have medium-sized businesses telling us they’re looking at having to lay off 50, 100 or 200 staff, and they’ll only be able to get a wage subsidy for 20.

‘‘The Government says it wants tailor-made recovery packages for larger businesses, but that’s a lot of businesses to be talking to, and those conversations need to be happening with great urgency.’’

Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said the package was significant but did not sufficiently address her industry’s concerns, and she would be looking for further specific support.

‘‘It’s only a fraction of what’s needed for our industry, because our recovery will potentially take up to 12 months.’’

Restaurant Association chief executive of Marisa Bidois said she regarded the financial assistance offered as a good ‘‘first step’’, but given how quickly the situation was changing, it was not a long-term solution.

‘‘It will go a long way to assisting those that have been hit in the early stages . . . You only need to look overseas to see how it could end up,’’ she said.

‘‘At our last estimation, approximately $6 million a week was being lost by hospitality business, which has now increased to $10 million a week.’’

Bidois said she was aware of 10 hospitality businesses that had already shut down, and the association was dealing with 200 considering layoffs, restructuring or closure.

President of the Rental Vehicle Association, James Dalglish, likened the coronavirus to ‘‘armageddon’’ for the country’s rental fleet of about 50,000 cars and campervans, and said the relief package was good news for smaller operators.

Dalglish, the managing director of Go Rentals, said he had watched his business ‘‘fall off a cliff’’ following the weekend announcement of 14 days’ isolation for all overseas arrivals.

With 150 employees and a multimillion-dollar payroll, he was disappointed with the lump sum cap on wage subsidies.

He was also hoping for more tax relief.

‘‘There are some positives, but it feels like maybe the larger businesses have not been considered and the focus has been on the smaller and medium enterprises, but hey, we have got to try and keep everyone alive,’’ Dalglish said.

‘‘It feels like maybe the larger businesses have not been considered.’’ James Dalglish

Rental Vehicle Association president