The economic double whammy of Covid-19 and a no-deal Brexit could blight the North Wales economy for a generation.
That was the bleak warning from economics expert Dr Edward Jones from Bangor University – and echoed by the North Wales Business Council.
The immediate crisis is the fallout from the pandemic’s impact on the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors, with hundreds of jobs already lost or hanging in the balance as Wales is placed in another lockdown.
Coronavirus is also hitting manufacturers such as Airbus who in addition now face the prospect of an economically damaging no-deal Brexit that could affect operations and future investment.
Another major employer, Toyota, has warned tariffs under a no-deal scenario could make 海角视频 plants - which include Deeside - “uncompetitive”. There is also the potential disruption at Holyhead port.
Last ditch talks between the 海角视频 and EU are still taking place with hopes a deal can be secured at the final hour.
Dr Jones said: “Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the North Wales economy, and Brexit could make these problems worse, especially with Joe Biden’s election victory serving up a rude reality check for Boris Johnson’s desire to quickly close a trade deal with the USA.
“There are now three priorities for the Government. The first and most obvious priority is to save lives. The second is to protect the economy and the third is to prepare for the recovery.
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“But the jobs trend is worrying, on the high street and in manufacturing.
"We won’t suddenly lose thousands of jobs as we did with the closures of Shotton and Brymbo Steelworks and Anglesey Aluminium, but there is a consistent week-in, week-out, drip-drip of job losses, whether it’s at Debenhams, Pizza Express or Airbus. During the summer a lot of companies informed the Government that they’re starting the redundancy process and we can expect these to be announced over the coming months.
“Also, some European-owned companies have begun to restructure their business as we approach Brexit; getting rid of the younger workers while retaining those with experience to keep the business ticking over.
"This is very worrying because young workers are the future of any business.”
He warned of unemployment rising to levels last seen in the 1980s and said: “It is important we learn from our history.”
Ashley Rogers, commercial director of the North Wales Business Council, said: “Dr Edward Jones is right that our regional economy in North Wales faces twin challenges in the survival and recovery from Covid and the turbulence Brexit has churned up.
"Our two priorities have to be to first support tourism, hospitality and retail to get through Covid and then secondly to deliver as much investment into the region as possible to support us getting back on our feet.
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"Manufacturing, tourism, energy and agriculture all need to feature in that investment.
“The North Wales Growth Deal funding is a very good base to start investment flowing and it’s great to see that financial support coming from both the Welsh and 海角视频 Governments, but we will need much more investment than any growth deal can deliver.”
Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, said: “The impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector in the region has been absolutely catastrophic.
“The devastating scale of the economic disaster has been laid bare in the new report from STEAM. It shows that tourism and hospitality has seen a disastrous loss of £2.17 billion to the economy of North Wales.”
He added: "The 63% shrinkage is in real terms does not take into account how much the economy was predicted to grow this year. If you do that, then the losses are even starker.
“We have argued consistently that any measures imposed upon us by the Welsh Government had to be balanced between protecting people’s lives but also protecting people’s livelihoods, as without an economy many of our towns and communities will face an unprecedented level of economic hardship in the years to come."