A man walks down a deserted street in the City, London's business district.

-

Tolga Akmen / AFP

“We are 15% of the usual attendance.

We expect to reach 30% by October, ”says Berat, manager of the Turkish restaurant Haz, near St. Paul's Cathedral in London, an area usually crowded with tourists and employees at lunchtime.

On the doorstep, greeting customers, he explains that he doesn't think office districts like the City or Canary Wharf are going to “get back to normal” anytime soon: “People see they can work from home. at their home.

It's not like us, we can't serve food from home ”.

Traffic in the Tube 70% lower than the pre-containment

With the end of the summer holidays and the reopening of schools, the British government said it expected a massive return to business districts deserted because of the new coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 41,500 in the Kingdom. -United.

But in vain, to the chagrin of traders and restaurateurs who are massively cutting jobs.

In the City, the atmosphere is no longer ghostly like in spring, but the message is the same.

"It's very quiet," laments a sandwich seller facing Saint-Paul.

In a neighboring co-working building, the manager who refuses to give her name estimates that only around 40% of companies that rent space have returned, even if she expects an increase in the months to come.

According to the public transport company Transport for London, (TFL), underground traffic was still nearly 70% lower than the pre-containment on September 1.

"People are on their guard" and "with the sanitary instructions (...), it is not possible to use the office spaces" while respecting safety distances, "particularly in central London", Alex Brazier, an official at the Bank of England, observed during a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.

Health fear ... but also urban exodus

In addition to the health aspect, many employees have taken a liking to teleworking, and some are fleeing the capital, its density become dangerous, and its astronomical prices.

The demand for housing outside London has increased - a trend of urban exodus that can be seen in other countries.

Many multinationals are taking the opportunity to completely review their operating methods, hoping to reduce the costs generated by expensive offices in the heart of large cities.

The oil company BP, which plans to cut 10,000 jobs and wants to resort more to teleworking, even plans, according to the

Sunday Times

, to leave its historic headquarters in central London.

Telecommuting recommended until July 2021 at Google

A spokeswoman for Barclays Bank does not give figures on the UK only but points out that out of 80,000 jobs around the world, 700 people have returned to the office and that "the rest will continue to work from home until at least at the end of September ”.

At Lloyds, 50,000 people out of a global workforce of 60,000 still telecommute and the group is studying "how it works in the future."

According to a spokesperson for HSBC, the bank currently has a "20% office occupancy" while its rival NatWest advocates remote work until next year.

At Google, the instructions go until July 2021.

"With many office districts still empty and a large part of the public avoiding public transport, traffic is not returning to city centers, with a devastating effect on local economies," warns Helen Dickinson, CEO from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) lobby.

Wave of layoffs in trade

The Prêt à Manger chain, whose motto was known to be “follow the skyscrapers”, is paying dearly and has announced nearly 3,000 job cuts while at Costa cafes 1,650 positions are threatened.

John Lewis department stores to close stores and lay people off, Marks and Spencer announced 7,000 job cuts ....

The City is far from isolated.

According to a study published Thursday by the firm Springboard, 10.8% of stores in the UK are now vacant, the highest in six years, with traffic falling 30.8% year-on-year in August in stores across the country.

As a result, the John Lewis department stores will close shops and lay people off, their competitors Debenhams cut 2,500 jobs and could go out of business once and for all.

World

Coronavirus: In the United Kingdom, the government wants to limit teleworking and bring employees back to the office

World

Coronavirus in the UK: Why reimpose a sudden quarantine on travelers coming from France?


  • Teleworking

  • Confinement

  • Coronavirus

  • World

  • Job

  • London