Friday newspaper round-up: Mortgage holiday, food retailers, BP
Mortgage holders clamouring to obtain a “payment holiday” during the coronavirus crisis are waiting hours to get through to Britain’s banks, and many have given up. Twitter has been deluged with complaints from customers unable to speak to someone at their bank. Some claimed they were waiting for as long as three and a half hours. Many expressed their anger at the lack of a simple online form that could be used to request a payment holiday. – Guardian
Food retailers are drafting in an army of coronavirus temps to “feed the nation” as worried shoppers continue to panic-buy groceries. With millions of jobs at risk as whole sectors of the economy close down, besieged food stores, including Asda, Tesco, Co-op and Iceland, are creating thousands of temporary jobs in a bid to keep their shelves full. – Guardian
Massive layoffs across Britain’s manufacturing sector will come within days without immediate action to ease a cash crisis as orders collapse. Industry leaders are meeting with ministers on Thursday to ask for relief on VAT, PAYE and National Insurance bills. One source said: “We’ve been hearing from companies since the start of the week warning that they can’t go on but the situation has ramped up suddenly in the past few days. – Telegraph
BP is slashing the number of its staff working in the North Sea as it fights to prevent coronavirus outbreaks on oil rigs. The business is reshuffling its 1,175 crew members in the region in a bid to maintain safe and steady operations and keep crude oil flowing. – Telegraph
Investors have suffered a dividend hit of at least £600 million as some of Britain’s biggest businesses race to conserve cash in the coronavirus crisis. About 20 companies have cut or delayed dividends in recent weeks, including pub and restaurant chains, bookmakers and software companies. About half a dozen firms moved to halt dividends yesterday, while Next and National Express put their payouts under review. – The Times