After seven months of lockdown, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tabled an “economic reconstruction and recovery plan” on Thursday in response to the staggering effects of Covid-19 on the country&#8217;s economy.



The president’s plans respond to the immediate economic impact of the pandemic by driving job creation and expanding support for vulnerable households.



“We aim to do this primarily through a major infrastructure program and a large-scale employment stimulus, coupled with an intensive localization drive and industrial expansion,” Ramaphosa said in his address.



Some of Ramaphosa’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan highlighted in Parliament:



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">1. “Create and support over 800,000 work opportunities in the immediate term to respond to job losses”</h4>



In his address to parliament, the president announced that the government has committed an R100 billion fund to create 800,000 public sector jobs in the next three years. This employment stimulus is focused on those interventions that can be rolled out most quickly and have the greatest impact on economic recovery.



“At the heart of the employment stimulus is a new, innovative approach to public employment which harnesses the energies and capabilities of the wider society,” Ramaphosa said.



Of the 800,000 job opportunities, 300,000 would go to unemployed grade 12 pupils to be hired as assistants to public school teachers. The aim is that these matriculants could help teachers with their added Covid-19 related responsibilities like such as ensuring classroom hygiene and daily health screening of pupils.



“We are going to create 300,000 opportunities for young people to be engaged as education and school assistants at schools throughout the country, to help teachers with basic and routine work so that more time is spent on teaching and enabling learners to catch up from time lost because of Covid,” said Ramaphosa.



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">2. “Unlock more than R1 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next four years”</h4>



In his recovery plan, Ramaphosa announced that there is a pipeline of projects in works that will completely transform the landscape of South Africa’s cities, towns, and rural areas.



The president stated that there are several projects that have been prioritized for “immediate implementation with all regulatory processes fast-tracked”. These projects include the 276 catalytic projects, which had an investment value of R2.3 trillion by the end of June 2020. Furthermore, the list of 50 strategic integrated projects and 12 special projects that were gazetted in July 2020.



“Our infrastructure build program will focus on social infrastructures such as schools, water, sanitation, and housing for the benefit of our people. We will focus on critical network infrastructures such as ports, roads, and rail that are key to our economy’s competitiveness,” Ramaphosa said.



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">3. “Achieve sufficient, secure, and reliable energy supply within two years”</h4>



The president said that the government would be accelerating the process of bringing additional energy generation on line. Part of this plan would be implementing the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to provide a substantial increase in the contribution of renewable energy sources, battery storage and gas technology.



“The work of restructuring Eskom into separate entities for generation, transmission, and distribution continues and will enhance competition and ensure the sustainability of independent power producers going forward,” Ramaphosa said.



“To achieve this, a long-term solution to Eskom’s debt burden will be finalized, building on the Social Compact on Energy Security recently agreed to by social partners.”

State Of The Nation 2020 in South Africa

Ramaphosa’s Rescue Plan For South Africa

Topline:&nbsp;As the coronavirus pandemic wipes out markets, closes schools and colleges, suspends major conferences, sports leagues and cultural events as well as upends the travel industry, businesses losing out on cash flow have started laying off workers.



Here’s who’s axed staff so far:



<ul><li>Workers at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mar-a-lago-shuttered-as-trumps-clubs-and-restaurants-suffer-from-coronavirus-fallout/2020/03/20/dae785c0-6ad2-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">President Trump’s hotels</a>—160 in Washington, D.C., 51 in New York City and an unknown number at his Las Vegas, Nevada location—were laid off.</li><li>Over 1,200 workers were laid off from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/nyregion/coronavirus-airport-workers-ny-nj.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OTG</a>, which staffs restaurants and stores in New York City’s LaGuardia International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, along with New Jersey’s Newark International Airport.</li><li>Workers have also been laid off from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-layoffs-phl-airport-american-airlines-seiu-32bj-20200319.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Philadelphia International Airport</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-coronavirus-airport-worker-layoffs-20200320-6pjs5hmaojhajbmltczllbomiu-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Orlando International Airport</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-coronavirus-airport-0321-20200321-mud54d4acffkncxagrechfwxwi-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport</a>.</li><li>Over five dozen workers were laid off Friday from West Virginia’s&nbsp;<a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-impact-forces-layoffs-at-oglebay-resort/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oglebay Resort and Conference Center</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paradigm-implements-layoffs-paycuts-coronavirus-shutdown-1285721" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hollywood talent agency Paradigm</a>&nbsp;laid off around 100 employees and reduced payroll for the remaining 500.</li><li><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/more-than-5-100-air-canada-flight-attendants-to-be-laid-off-amid-massive-covid-19-slowdown-1.5504051" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Air Canada</a>&nbsp;will lay off 5,100 members of its cabin crew, about half of its current roster, as its&nbsp;planned flights for April have been cut by nearly 80%.</li><li>Montreal-based circus producer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2020/03/20/cirque-du-soleil-lays-off-95-of-staff-over-coronavirus-pandemic-shutdown/#506616eb5304">Cirque du Soleil</a>&nbsp;will lay off 4,679 people—95% of its staff.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/anastasiat/status/1240645951309701120" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metropolitan Opera</a>, considered the U.S.’ largest performing arts organization, on Thursday laid off its union employees, including its chorus singers and musicians.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/estimated-120000-iatse-jobs-lost-pandemic-1285229" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees</a>, IATSE, estimated that 120,000 jobs for film workers, including technicians, artisans and other crew positions have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/03/18/coronavirus-has-hit-entertainment-hard-audiences-may-never-be-the-same/#6d82266c57de">eliminated</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/penn-dining-bon-appetit-laid-off-workers-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bon Appetit Management Company</a>, a retail dining employer for college campuses, laid off 140 workers from the University of Pennsylvania.</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/marriott-starting-to-furlough-tens-of-thousands-of-employees-11584459417" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marriott International</a>, the world’s largest hotel company, said tens of thousands of hotel workers will be furloughed, and will lay off a number of those workers.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/AliVelshi/status/1240332776328626176" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday laid off 2,000 workers, which is 80% of its workforce.</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-17/coronavirus-forces-marriott-to-furlough-workers-other-hotels-close" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pebblebrook Hotel Trust</a>, which owns 54 hotels, laid off half of its 8,000 workers and may need to cut an additional 2,000.</li><li><a href="https://dcist.com/story/20/03/17/coronavirus-is-causing-industry-wide-layoffs-in-d-c-hitting-service-workers-particularly-hard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Compass Coffee</a>, a Washington, D.C. Starbucks competitor, on Tuesday laid off 150 of its 189 employees—equaling 80 percent of its staff.</li><li><a href="https://dcist.com/story/20/03/17/coronavirus-is-causing-industry-wide-layoffs-in-d-c-hitting-service-workers-particularly-hard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eatwell DC</a>, a District of Columbia-based restaurant group, let go of 160 employees over Sunday and Monday.</li><li>Minnesota-based cabinetmaker&nbsp;<a href="http://tcbmag.com/news/articles/2020/march/wayzata-home-products-ceases-operations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wayzata Home Products</a>&nbsp;had to lay off its entire 141 person staff.</li><li>Laura Ashley, the British homewares and bedding maker,&nbsp;<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-laura-ashley-set-to-become-first-retail-casualty-of-crisis-11958881" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for administration</a>&nbsp;(the U.K.’s version of bankruptcy) Tuesday, after rescue talks were impeded by the coronavirus outbreak.</li><li>Dixons Carphone, a second British retailer that sells telecom and electrical goods and services,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51923295" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laid off 2,900 workers Tuesday</a>.</li><li>New York City bookseller McNally Jackson, which operates four locations, temporarily laid off its employees due to the outbreak, but intends to hire them back “as soon as we can,” according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B90HQzQp7Ge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">company’s Instagram account</a>.</li><li>Portland,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/03/powells-expands-coronavirus-layoff-warns-it-will-be-several-months-before-normal-operations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon-based bookseller Powell’s Books</a>, which operates five locations, said some of its layoffs would be permanent and that it would take several months for normal operations to be restored.</li><li>Stena Line, a European ferry operator,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-stena-line-announces-950-planned-j-idUSFWN2B91E3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced Monday</a>&nbsp;that 950 jobs would be cut in Sweden due to a sharp decline in travel bookings.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/circuit-of-the-americas-layoffs-coronavirus-closure/269-6caf01ed-7fa8-42da-a0d8-b03b21c1fcd0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Circuit of the Americas</a>, an Austin, Texas-based concert, automobile racing, conference and entertainment complex, said Monday it was laying off an undisclosed number of workers after being indefinitely closed due to coronavirus.</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarcia/2020/03/15/with-traffic-essentially-non-existent-sas-will-reduce-staff-by-up-to-90/#5f6b2617a4ca">Scandinavian Airlines</a>&nbsp;said Sunday it will temporarily lay off 10,000 employees, equal to 90% of their staff,</li><li><a href="https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/68/8c/dfd9e0464556893c25b0941b2fd6/bill-letter-03.13.2020_FINAL.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MGM Resorts said Friday</a>&nbsp;it would furlough workers and begin layoffs on Monday, but immediately let some staffers go from undisclosed parts of its business.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/caesars-begins-layoffs-during-coronavirus-crisis-1982207/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Las Vegas Review-Journal</a>&nbsp;reported that Caesars Entertainment Corp. has also begun coronavirus-prompted layoffs.</li><li>Kimpton Hotel Aventi in Manhattan, owned by the InterContinental Hotels Group,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hotels-turn-to-layoffs-room-rate-cuts-as-business-staggers-11584108223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly laid off</a>&nbsp;40 employees, while the Ian Schrager-owned Public temporarily laid off an undisclosed number of workers.</li><li>SoftBank-backed Oyo Hotels&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/1813349/softbank-backed-oyo-lays-off-thousands-in-china-amid-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laid off 3,000</a>&nbsp;of its China employees earlier in the month, equaling 30% of its workforce there,&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/1813349/softbank-backed-oyo-lays-off-thousands-in-china-amid-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">part of a global layoff of 5,000</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/12/norwegian-air-axes-up-to-50-of-employees-as-coronavirus-layoffs-begin/#1587fa32a8b8">Norwegian Air said Thursday</a>&nbsp;that it would temporarily lay off up to 50% of its workforce, meaning 7,300 workers, and suspend 4,000 flights due to the pandemic.</li><li>Scandic, the largest hotel operator in Europe’s Nordic countries,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hotels-turn-to-layoffs-room-rate-cuts-as-business-staggers-11584108223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">also said Thursday</a>&nbsp;it would give termination notices to 2,000 Swedish employees.</li><li>At least 50 employees of music and culture festival South By Southwest were let go after this year’s event was canceled, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/11/layoffs-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported.</li><li>Union leaders at a&nbsp;<a href="https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/coronavirus-cami-auto-plant-union-seeks-two-week-layoff-to-help-nix-covid-19-spread" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">General Motors plant</a>&nbsp;in Ontario, Canada have recommended a two week layoff due to concerns over the virus.</li><li>The Port of Los Angeles let go of 145 drivers after ships from China stopped arriving.</li><li>Christie Lights, an Orlando, Florida, based stage lighting company, laid off 100 employees.</li><li>HMSHost, a Seattle, Washington, global restaurant-services provider&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seattlebusinessmag.com/workplace/least-400-jobs-are-chopping-block-seattle-area-new-year-kicks-gear" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said it would lay off</a>&nbsp;200 people and an area corporate shuttle service would lay off 75,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-layoffs-us-economy_n_5e69e685c5b6747ef1175a57" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HuffPost reported</a>, while an area hotel chain eliminated an entire department, according to the&nbsp;Post.</li><li>Travel agencies in Los Angeles, California, along with Atlanta, Georgia, had to let employees go as the pandemic battered their industry.</li><li>Aid workers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.8newsnow.com/coronavirus/coronavirus-cancellations-force-layoffs-people-reaching-out-for-help-across-las-vegas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Las Vegas</a>&nbsp;are reportedly seeing a surge in requests for food assistance and other help as events and trade shows get canceled.</li></ul>



What to watch for: If any U.S. airlines end up laying off workers. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://news.delta.com/delta-actions-address-financial-impact-covid-19" target="_blank">Delta Airlines</a> said Tuesday it was cutting flights and freezing hiring. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2020/03/10/american-suspends-more-flights-to-china-and-europe-as-coronavirus-saps-demand/" target="_blank">American Airlines</a> is also cutting flights, and delaying trainings for new flight attendants and pilots.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/">Lisette Voytko</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

Tag: Job Losses

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