Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
80% of companies to furlough workers
Reaching fever pitch in Ulster Survey finds firms at breaking point
Denroy Group, which makes everything from hairbrushes to plastic parts for airplanes, has been assembling Hero Shield visors at its Bangor factory for key workers over the last few weeks. The Hero Shield is a visor designed to protect healthcare workers from liquid splashes and bodily fluids when treating Covid-19 patients and has been created by a collective of companies throughout Northern Ireland. The masks are available at heroshield.net.
Ulster Bank has introduced additional support for businesses by announcing that invoices from its suppliers will be paid much more quickly for the foreseeable future. To help ease pressures on cashflow among local firms, the bank said its suppliers will now receive payment within four business days.
Supervalu and Centra stores across Northern Ireland are helping support people in local communities during the Covid-19 pandemic with the introduction of a new home delivery service. Currently, over 80 Supervalu and Centra stores are now offering home delivery, with local stores in every county offering the new service to support people self-isolating.
A LISBURN security company has invested in thermal screening technology which will detect if someone is suffering from a fever in just one second.
Mercury Security & Facilities Management said its cameras may indicate the presence of a fever – one of the first vital symptoms displayed by carriers of the th coronavirus.
From a social distancing perspective, the Mercury TC-1 camera can measure body temperature from a distance of 1.5 to two metres – thus avoiding unnecessary physical contact.
THE first detailed insight into the state of the economy since the coronavirus pandemic hit has revealed that businesses have been hit hard with 80% expecting to furlough some or all of their workers over the next week.
The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry and BDO’S survey said revenues and cash reserves have been severely hit prompting the majority to take advantage of the Government’s job retention scheme where staff are temporarily laid off.
Under the measure, the State pays 80% of workers’ salary up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
Only 17% of those surveyed said they didn’t plan to furlough workers.
It revealed there had been an
“immediate and significant fall” in revenue for many businesses, with three in four reporting a serious decline in sales and income over a very short period of time.
Particularly worrying is the fact one in 10 firms have no cash reserves.
Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Ann Mcgregor said there has been a “startling negative impact on business and the economy which is significant for our future when we emerge from the crisis”.
She added: “This cash flow issue is being exasperated by slow or non-payments and difficulty accessing the various funds. Even where there is some activity on order books, businesses are finding that customers are becoming increasingly reluctant to pay quickly, worsening the cash flow problem.
“Firms may be able to avail of rates relief and furlough staff but they can’t survive without income and in this challenging time are anxious about increasing their debt.
“They also cannot afford to wait weeks or months for reimbursement from the various support schemes to arrive.”