More than half of Exeter’s businesses are considering making redundancies as they emerge from lockdown, a new survey shows.
The study also reveals that 66% of companies reported being impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and of those, 60% classified the effect as “severe”.
But this was down seven percentage points from a similar survey in April, though fewer than 3% of respondents said there had been a positive effect on their business.
The survey was carried out by Exeter Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Exeter City Council, the Federation of Small Businesses and business development service InExeter.
It found that while almost half of respondents had no plans to make job cuts, 23% were expecting to have to make redundancies and a further 28% were considering it. Of the jobs already lost, 11% of respondents had made between one and five redundancies.
Jo Caine, chamber board director and managing director of recruitment firm Cathedral Appointments, said: “While there are some extremely concerning results from the survey, that we know will result in further closures and redundancies, we are beginning to see businesses rebuild their sales levels and work out how to minimise job losses.”
The survey was responded to by 300 business owners, of which 45% being from the retail and hospitality sector, including shops, bars, restaurants and leisure. SMEs predominated with 86% of those surveyed employing up to 20 people.
Businesses were also asked about their premises and whether they planned to move as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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More than 50% of businesses reported they do not need all of their current workspace, with many planning to downsize or looking at shared space. A number of businesses indicated they would like to move premises but are locked into lease agreements.
Tim Wadsworth, chamber board director, chair of the Chamber Property Group and managing
director of workplace transformation specialists Space, said: “We are expecting to see a considerable shift in the way office space is utilised in the short term, but would encourage businesses to think as far ahead as possible.
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“Where businesses are looking for advice on how to manage their premises, we encourage you to get in touch with the chamber.”
Travel to work plans saw respondents indicate that private vehicle use is high with 79.9% driving to their workplace. However most respondents ticked multiple boxes showing that 55.3% intend to walk and 35.8% cycle to work.
Skills and training needs revealed in the survey data included digital, e-commerce, IT working from home, finance, cashflow, marketing, health and safety, social distancing.
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Cllr David Harvey, lead councillor of environment and city management, said: “This survey has given us important insight into the experience the business community is facing.
“Exeter City Council will continue to work with businesses to address issues where possible. One of the initiatives designed to help businesses come out of the lockdown is a new series of webinars to help businesses reopen.”