'Fear of Layoffs'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] The fear of layoffs has become a reality due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to reports from major foreign media on the 25th, it has been revealed that 400,000 workers in the global aviation industry have already lost their jobs or are at risk of losing them.

Based on the announcements from airlines, it was found that as many as 400,000 workers have either already been laid off, temporarily furloughed, or notified of the possibility of job loss.

Major airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates Airlines, and Qantas Airlines have already announced thousands of layoffs and unpaid leaves, and layoffs at U.S. airlines are also expected.

Since the U.S. government required job retention as a condition for providing $50 billion in bailout funds, there have been no layoffs at U.S. airlines so far, but it is anticipated that the situation will change after the bailout ends in October.

In particular, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines have already warned 35,000 employees of possible job loss, raising concerns that up to 100,000 jobs could be lost by the end of the year at the three major U.S. airlines alone.

Not only the aviation industry but also Dyson, the British home appliance company famous for vacuum cleaners, has decided to lay off 900 employees worldwide.

According to major foreign media, Dyson announced on the 23rd (local time) that it plans to proceed with layoffs of 900 employees as part of restructuring due to COVID-19.

Specifically, 600 employees will be laid off in the UK and 300 in other regions.

Dyson employs 14,000 people worldwide, including 4,000 in the UK.

Dyson has traditionally sent its own employees directly to department stores to sell products.

However, with the increase in online shopping due to COVID-19, it has decided to proceed with layoffs mainly in the retail and customer service sectors.

However, it is reported that the company intends to avoid forced layoffs as much as possible.

The situation is similar in the global financial industry.

Bloomberg News reported that Wells Fargo, the U.S. bank with the largest number of employees, is preparing to lay off thousands of employees from the end of the year to reduce costs.

The news agency cited anonymous sources saying that Wells Fargo, which has 263,000 employees, is creating a layoff plan that could ultimately eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.

The report explained that Wells Fargo is under severe cost pressure compared to other banks and that there are forecasts it will record a quarterly loss for the first time in over ten years.

The U.S. banking industry has so far refused large-scale layoffs despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but Wells Fargo's layoff plan could set a dark precedent for the banking industry facing increasing loan losses, the news agency said.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.