Last week, India-based hotel partner start-up Oyo Hotels announced 5,000 job cuts worldwide due to the outbreak of coronavirus, with roughly 2,000 occurring in the US and India. Meanwhile, Florida-based toy maker Basic Fun! Announced 18 job cuts due to a work stoppage at the company’s Chinese facilities, 10 of which will occur in the United States. The virus could cause wide-scale layoffs in four waves, according to one workplace authority.
“Economists may look back and discover that we entered the recession on February 21, the day the stock market started falling. The catalyst for the recession: the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy,” said Andrew Challenger, Vice President of global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The first wave of layoffs due to the outbreak will likely primarily come from companies affected by the supply chain. Chinese factories shut down shortly before the Lunar New Year on January 25, 2020 to slow the spread of Covid-19.
