New Delhi: As many as 75 percent companies in the countyr think they will have to go for manpower reduction due to the corona pandemic while 70 percent of them expect degrowth in sales in the current fiscal, according to a recent survey.
About 72 percent of the respondents in the survey said they think there will be ‘high to very high’ impact on their business due to the pandemic.
The ‘FICCI–Dhruva survey’ found that a majority of the companies foresee a reduction in their business cash-flows and the order book.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is causing deep economic harm and could reverse the gains made in the industrial economy over many decades. There is a need to render immediate and sizable support to industry to protect people, jobs, and enterprises. Industry members are reeling under severe financial stress and are in urgent need of ample liquidity to ensure business continuity. We are hopeful that the government will introduce a series of measures in quick succession to support demand ensure business continuity,” said Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI.
The expansion plans of the companies will also go for a toss. The survey shows about 61 percent of the companies expect to defer their expansions for 6-12 months. Another 33 percent of the companies expect to defer approved expansion plans for a period even more than 12 months. About 60 percent of the surveyed companies have deferred their fund-raising plans for the next 6-12 months. About 25 percent of the companies have shelved the fund raising plans.
While 43 percent of the of the surveyed companies said that they do not foresee an impact on exports, about 34 percent reported that exports will go down by more than 10 percent.
The survey was done nationwide. As many as 380 companies from various sectors participated in the survey.