Up to 250,000 people may lose their jobs, with roughly 50,000 enterprises facing bankruptcy, if the German government does not provide adequate financial support to cover the losses caused by new anti-coronavirus restrictions that will close non-essential shops in the country, the German Retail Federation (HDE) said on Tuesday.
On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that non-essential stores would be closed in the country starting December 16, and the restrictions would stay in force until January 10.
"The aid provisioned by the German government is important, but should be adjusted to the current needs in details, and also provided without bureaucratic hurdles and rapidly ... otherwise, almost 50,000 enterprises with 250,000 employees will have no prospects in the future," the statement, published on the HDE's website, read.
According to the HDE, the restrictions will mostly affect the enterprises that are not able to shift to online marketing to continue operation during the lockdown.
"The lockdown affects the retail industry in extremely various ways. While online marketing and food sales are performing well, the trade enterprises affected by the restrictions are losing a fifth of their turnover. For stationary trade enterprises this means a 2.7 per cent loss in 2020, that is almost 13 billion euro (USD 15,8 billion)," the HDE said.
The statement stressed that German shops had to close ahead of the New Year holiday, when enterprises traditionally gain a large amount of profit. According to HDE's expectations, the German retail industry will lose roughly seven percent of its turnover, compared to the same period in 2019.
The federation noted that the restrictions on shops would benefit the enterprises engaged in online marketing, and their turnover would increase by 20 million euros.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Germany has confirmed 6,451 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of infections reaching 1,357,261. On Monday, Germany registered 8,976 new daily COVID-19 cases. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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