The director of the Strategic Analysis Division of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), Mihailo Vesovic, said that 67,000 people are working from home because the companies they work for are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the online conference, organized by the Serbian Association of Managers (SAM), Vesovic also said that a total of 168 companies have stopped production.
He added that, in crisis situations such as a pandemic, the best way to help business people is through tax relief, covering part of the cost of wages for employees and creating conditions to increase the liquidity of companies.
“We are planning to implement all measures. The rules of the game in solving the crisis have completely changed, and now the state and the economy’s focus is on maintaining the health care and social system. However, it is important that the economy has shown a good dose of understanding for the problems we are facing. We are entering the phase where companies’ business will be seriously affected. There are currently 67,000 employees working from home in Serbia, while 168 manufacturing companies have stopped production. We must not let them be swept away by the crisis,” Vesovic said.
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The hotel industry is the first to decline, with revenues going from tens of thousands of euro daily to a few hundred euro.
In America, between six and eight million people have lost their jobs in the hotel industry, which generates 700 billion euro a year, said Zivorad Vasic, senior vice president and regional director of IHG, Delta Holding.
Aleksandar Hagimana, CEO of Balcans-Manpower Group, recalls the experience of 10 years ago when a financial crisis occurred.
“Companies that kept their employees and shared costs came out of the crisis better and stronger. It is important to maintain optimism. The three options we propose are to suspend work for up to 45 days which means that the employer will pay out 65% of the 12-month-average wage to its employees, reducing working hours and paying minimum wage in order to overcome the crisis,” says Hagimana.
(RTV, 26.03.2020)
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