The global coronavirus pandemic continues to have adverse economic effects to many different industries around the world, whether it’s the film and entertainment industry or retail and fashion industry. The latest casualty is Victoria Beckham’s fashion firm as the former Spice Girl is forced to lay off workers.
The Mirror reports that the 46-year-old businesswoman has been forced to let go of 20 workers at her fashion company because of the economic devastation brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic. The removal of workers follows after Beckham had to close her London shop earlier this year.
Quoting a source, the Mirror says the firings have “devastated” Beckham, who considers her fashion company as her “pride and joy.” The source also claims that Beckham has not paid herself over three years now and has never thought about the money while running her business.
A spokesperson for Beckham also confirmed the firings to Metro, saying that the challenging retail landscape combined with the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic has necessitated the action. The spokesperson also said the redundancies are part of the new vision to “streamline and future-proof the brand.”
Metro also reports that the brand will also take part in cost-cutting efforts that will involve halving their yearly collection of £1.5 million.
The firings come after Beckham decided to reverse an earlier decision to furlough her staff so that her company could avail of the United Kingdom government’s furlough scheme, where 80 percent of their pay-out would come from taxpayer money. At the time, Beckham said the action was done in the best interests of her staff.
Of course, it isn’t just smaller businesses like Beckham’s that have had to either furlough or let go of workers. Last month, Montreal entertainment company Cirque du Soleil had to file for bankruptcy after spending three months with no revenue because of the closures brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier in the year, Disney World also furloughed 43,000 staffers because the global coronavirus pandemic had resulted in the theme park’s closure. Film labels under Disney such as Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Searchlight also had to implement furloughs.
The economic situation for a lot of these companies may not improve in the coming weeks as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage all over the world. According to the World Health Organization’s July 29 situation report, there are now 16,558,289 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, with deaths at 656,093 people.