Firms furlough 2.8 million workers due to Coronavirus

Firms furlough 2.8 million workers due to Coronavirus

The figures were given by the Business Secretary, Alok Sharma

Firms have applied for 2.8 million workers to be furloughed since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the Business Secretary Alok Sharma said.

He told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee that the Government had received 387,000 applications covering these employees by 4pm on Wednesday.

He also said that, as of April 19, almost half a million businesses had received grants of £10,000 or £25,000 distributed by local authorities, totalling just over £6 billion.

New figures from UK Finance revealed £2.8 billion has been handed to smaller businesses in the past week through Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Published: by Radio NewsHub
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