Three-quarters of Ukrainian enterprises continue to operate amid COVID-19 lockdown – poll

Three quarters of enterprises continue to operate in Ukraine amid the coronavirus COVID-19 quarantine, while 89% of businesses surveyed have stopped short of firing personnel since quarantine start.

That's according to a survey conducted by the Analytical Center for Economic and Legal Research and Forecasting of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU).

Among those who were forced to lay off workers, one third fired 1% to 5% of employees, while another third had to sack more than 31%.

If the COVID-19 crisis continues, 36% of enterprises will be forced to dismiss employees.

It is noted that a safety cushion for a third of respondents will be enough to cover a period from two to three months. The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect operations of just 6% of enterprises, according to the poll.

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"Some 81% of respondents were forced to change their approach to business operations to protect their companies from the pandemic. Most of the respondents are encountering such problems as partners' failure to do business as usual since they were badly affected by new restrictions (74% of respondents), suppliers' failure to ensure timely deliveries (49%), insufficient working capital to pay salaries and cover operational costs (34%)," reads the relevant press release.

Also, 59% of respondents noted that government resolutions to support businesses do not satisfy their needs, while almost 40% say they satisfy the needs only partially.

According to the survey, 90% of enterprises noted a decrease in revenue/sales due to the negative impact of COVID-19. Of them 53% had their revenue/sales decreased by more than 50%, while 38% saw a decline from 20% to 50%.

Some 42% of respondents will need from 31 to 90 days for a full recovery of business operations, while 28% will require more than 91 days.