FTA comment on government's extension of furloughing scheme

Tuesday 12 May 2020

Speaking about the government’s extension of the furloughing scheme, announced today (12 May), FTA’s Chief Executive David Wells was keen to see more flexibility introduced to the scheme:

“The announcement of the extension of the government’s furloughing scheme will be welcomed by logistics businesses that have been directly impacted by the shutdown of the economy, providing a longer term stability to protect their staff from redundancy.  However, it is vital that the option of part-time furloughing is made available to our sector now, to accommodate the gradual return of trade in all sectors.  Demand will return to different sectors at different rates and it is unlikely to accommodate full time working right across industry – therefore, it is imperative that logistics businesses be given the flexibility to scale up their workforce in increments, to manage the financial risk of bringing staff back gradually.  Without this option, the impact on our sector is likely to be significant and that could have a considerable effect on productivity across the entire economy.”

FTA is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods.  With Covid-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. FTA supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.