If the government does not lower the threshold for access to the mechanism for covering all the fixed costs of certain companies affected by health restrictions, “he will encourage some to reduce their activity to reach this threshold”, warned Didier Chenet, president of the National Group of Independent Hotel and Restaurant Industry (GNI), Sunday January 9 on franceinfo. For him, “it would be a very bad calculation and it would cost much more to the State and to the community” than to reduce this threshold from 50% to 30%, as requested by his organization.
“We are very hard hit by the latest measures that have been taken: the ban on drinking while standing, the abolition of the vows ceremony, the vaccination pass on January 15, which means that a certain number of foreigners cannot come, compulsory teleworking, the ban on convivial moments, that is to say end-of-year drinks, king’s cakes … All these measures have had a very strong impact “, lists the employer manager.
Not making this decision would be tantamount to “to condemn to the closure of companies which try at all costs to maintain their activity”, he assured. “We have a payroll which, normally, in normal times, is 40 to 50% [des coûts fixes]. If you lose 30% of your turnover, mechanically, this payroll increases to 60-70% “, he continued.
According to him, “it is impossible, under these conditions, to achieve financial balance, especially since this payroll is added to the compensation of employees struck by Covid-19, who are on sick leave, which must be replaced, but which will – because of the additional salary paid by the company – increase the payroll a little more. “