Jobs Are At Risk But All Is Not Lost

With extended lockdown, hiring freeze, salary cuts and job losses, some sectors will be badly affected

- Anagh Pal

The COVID-19 pandemic has left us all in an unprecedented crisis since WWII. In fact, some are calling it a bigger crisis, since more people across the world are affected. With strict lockdown measures across the globe and India, this crisis is going to impact businesses in a way that has never been seen before. Now the situation is more serious than 2008 – the devastation is faster and unknown. Naturally, jobs will be affected.

“The formal sector contributes to more than 60 per cent plus to the country’s GDP. Companies are mature and bracing to absorb the hit by taking salary cuts so as to minimize job losses. However, 10 to 20 per cent loss of jobs and a gross impact of around 7 to 10 per cent on salaries are expected. It will also be important to wait and see for how long the demand and consumption is impacted due to COVID-19,” says Kunal Gupta, Founder & CEO, Mount Talent Consulting.

However, things hold promise in the medium to long term. “Exports are impacted, however, India Inc could gain a larger global market share due to low costs and high level of quality, anti-China sentiment, and a democratic system in India. We could see a surge in manufacturing, technology growth, and exports in a couple of years,” he adds.