About the impact of the coronavirus on business
- How are the effects of the coronavirus epidemic in the world or may be felt in the near future by employers in the manufacturing industry?
The coronavirus has hit manufacturing and industrial companies that manufacture their products based on components from China. In particular, the following sectors were affected: automotive, electronic equipment (TVs, mobile phones), IT (computers and IT tools), household appliances/electronics. Some of our customers representing these industries are already signaling shortages in components that have not arrived from China because they were stopped at the border or even not produced due to the closure of factories there. As a result, these companies are forced to reduce production and thus reduce the demand for temporary workers. Our data shows that this is not yet a large scale, because we are talking about about 1-2% of customers, but we are observing increasing anxiety on the market, which is further exacerbated by the uncertain economic situation that companies have been facing for several months. All this inhibits companies from placing new orders for temporary workers. Going further, if the coronavirus gains momentum, there is a real probability that as a preventive measure, in order to reduce the risk of infections and illnesses, an appeal will be made about the need to temporarily suspend production, in which, after all, we are dealing with large groups of people.
The situation in which the market has found itself in the face of the threat of the pandemic shows how important it is to implement temporary employment services in responsible business conduct. Companies that do not use this solution will suffer much more financially, as they will either be forced to send employees on forced paid leave or will incur costs caused by layoffs, which will increase further when the situation returns to normal and it is necessary to invest in further recruitments to rebuild the number of teams. A company using temporary workers first reduces employment in this employee group, thanks to which the permanent team has a chance to remain unchanged without additional financial consequences for the employer.
- In connection with the emergence of the coronavirus in Europe, have you noticed that manufacturing employers are reducing the demand for employees beyond seasonal effects or there are other signs of a decrease in demand for labor in the coming weeks?
There is certainly anxiety among employers caused by reports about the spread of coronavirus in Europe. The problem is beginning to affect an increasing number of companies in Poland – initially those cooperating with China, now also with Italy and Germany. Although it is not yet possible to talk about the suspension of cooperation with employment agencies, there is a noticeable greater restraint in orders for additional temporary workers, and in a few cases orders are withdrawn or suspended for a month, with the option of extending the time.
In the case of companies producing in Poland, from Polish components and those cooperating with Chinese companies located in a safe area – we do not observe any major negative consequences at the moment. Production and thus orders for temporary workers are proceeding as planned. The situation is different with companies that directly or indirectly cooperate with Chinese or Italian suppliers located in endangered areas. Here there are already cases of reducing production and thus hiring temporary workers.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that reducing the number of employees in the manufacturing sector will free up human resources on the market, making it easier to find an employee. In other words, restrictions on hiring with clients (i.e. a decrease in orders for staff) will leave agencies with resources in the form of employees. Companies whose production is not related to the Chinese market may benefit from this. On the other hand, the closure of borders has significantly reduced the number of workers from across our eastern border.
Katarzyna Dąderewicz, Regional Director at LeasingTeam, answered questions from PAP.
Doświadczony analityk rynku pracy, specjalizuje się w badaniach nad trendami zatrudnienia i zmianami w strukturze zawodowej. Jego artykuły, publikowane w renomowanych czasopismach branżowych, pomagają czytelnikom zrozumieć dynamikę rynku pracy.
