Business

Covid-Brexit double salvo means north west businesses stop recruiting

BORDER PATROL: Announcing the survey findings are (from left) Toni Forrester, chief executive at Letterkenny Chamber; Redmond McFadden, Londonderry Chamber president; Jimmy Stafford, Letterkenny Chamber president; and Paul Clancy, chief executive of the Chamber in Derry
BORDER PATROL: Announcing the survey findings are (from left) Toni Forrester, chief executive at Letterkenny Chamber; Redmond McFadden, Londonderry Chamber president; Jimmy Stafford, Letterkenny Chamber president; and Paul Clancy, chief executive of the C BORDER PATROL: Announcing the survey findings are (from left) Toni Forrester, chief executive at Letterkenny Chamber; Redmond McFadden, Londonderry Chamber president; Jimmy Stafford, Letterkenny Chamber president; and Paul Clancy, chief executive of the Chamber in Derry

HIRING intentions in the north west have bottomed out, with four out of five businesses indicating that they have no plans to recruit staff or expand their workforce in the next year.

And they're not just blaming it on the impact of Covid, but also on the potentially damaging and negative effect Brexit will have on their businesses.

The findings come in a joint survey between the Londonderry and Letterkenny Chambers of Commerce, which gauged the views of 130 businesses in the north west region, most of whom said they were already making cuts to protect already badly hit revenue streams.

And the Chambers are now calling on the governments in Stormont, Westminster and Dublin to work collaboratively with business to reach solutions around pandemic restrictions which allow companies to continue trading, or to properly compensate them if their doors are forced shut or they experience a fall in trade.

Despite the current impact of Covid for firms on both sides of the border, they also remain seriously concerned about what will happen at the end of the transition period just nine weeks away.

Some 72 per cent of respondents say they have concerns around increased paperwork and bureaucracy, barriers to trade, loss of business and customers, exchange rates fluctuations, supply chain interruptions, and access to skills and workforce.

A fifth of north west businesses have not made any specific preparations ahead of the end of the transition period on December 31, while only 5 per cent have signed up to the government’s new Trade Support Service.

In a joint statement, Paul Clancy, chief executive of Londonderry Chamber, and Toni Forrester, his equivalent in Letterkenny Chamber, said: “While the impact of Covid has been clear to see, it's concerning though not surprising that 81 per cent of firms will not be hiring over the next 12 months.

“Governments across these islands need to put in place the necessary schemes and supports which will shield one of Ireland’s historically most deprived regions at a time of growing unemployment.

“The survey also highlighted the importance that government support schemes have played in keeping local businesses afloat since March, but even so, every business reported having lost significant percentages of their revenue over the past six months.”

The two added: “But while Covid remains the immediate anxiety for business owners, an even higher number of respondents (84 per cent) believe Brexit poses the greatest challenge to the north west region over the next 12 to 24 months.

“With just weeks until the end of the transition period, the future trading environment is as an unclear as ever, with 62 per cent of businesses either unprepared for Brexit or unsure what they need to do.

“With business capacity having been focused almost exclusively on responding to the impact of the pandemic, time is quickly running out to prepare companies ,and we are again pleading with the UK government to deliver clarity and certainty for our economy and ensure every effort is taken to guarantee uninhibited trade across our islands.”