The COVID-19 outbreak and the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the virus will have a major impact on the country’s job scenario, a survey conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has revealed.

The survey was based on the responses of more than 200 company heads across India.

Fifty-two percent Chief Executive Officers (CEO) across the country have said that there could be massive job losses in various sectors after the lockdown period ends.

The survey, ‘CEOs Snap Poll on Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Industry’, put together the responses of CII members and revealed on Sunday.

As per the survey, 47% of the CEOs have said that they expect less than 15% job cuts, however, 32% of the them estimate that there could be job losses in the range of 15-30%.

CII, a non-government business association reveals that majority of the firms expect a drop in their revenue by more than 10%, while profits are expected to fall by more than 5% in the current (April-June) as well as the past quarters (January-March).

Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII, said, ‘The government could announce a fiscal stimulus package for the industry and implement it on a fast-track mode, given that the sudden imposition of the lockdown has significantly impacted industry operations and the uncertainty of a recovery threatens substantial loss of livelihoods going forward.’

Manufacturing companies dealing with essential services have also witnessed major hindrances in manufacture, transport and distribution of goods.

While 65% have said that there are difficulties in the movement of goods, 35% have said that there is a dearth of manpower. According to the survey, 80% of the CEOs have also said that their inventory has not been used and is lying idle.

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