Latest news with #jobLoss
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong labour group calls for review of imported worker policy amid job losses
A local labour union has urged the Hong Kong government to review its imported labour policy after a survey revealed that more than half of catering workers lost their jobs following the Lunar New Year, while the percentage of employers hiring non-local workers trebled. The survey, jointly conducted by the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions and Federation of Hong Kong Food & Beverage Industries Trade Union between January and April this year, gathered responses from 950 workers in local food and catering services, including traditional Chinese restaurants, cha chaan tengs, noodle bars, snack bars, and Western restaurants. It found that 52.5 per cent of the restaurant workers reported losing their jobs after the Lunar New Year, which fell on January 29 this year. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who stated their restaurants had hired imported labour surged threefold, from 24 per cent before the festival to 72 per cent afterwards. More than 95 per cent of respondents believed that the influx of non-local workers had negatively impacted their livelihoods, leading to situations where they were either replaced, unemployed, or only able to secure part-time positions. 'We advise the government to review the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme and consider reimplementing restrictions on the 26 job types. For those jobs and industries that had imported labour, the government should establish quotas,' said Jenny Tam Kam-lin, the vice-chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions. She also recommended that the government monitor and penalise employers who dismissed local employees after receiving approval to hire non-local workers, or who exclusively hired local part-time workers instead of offering full-time positions. The Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme was introduced in September 2023. It aims to address the city's manpower shortage by allowing employers to bring in an unlimited number of unskilled or low-skilled workers from mainland China for 26 new job types, including waiters, junior chefs, and hospitality and sales staff in catering.
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
‘Highly recommended' car dealership with nearly perfect review scores suddenly shuts
A HIGHLY recommended car dealership with excellent reviews has closed suddenly. The Evans Halshaw location ceased trading quietly earlier this month with no warning given. One of the firms 'direct hubs' the small location in Stoke on Trent ceased trading without a word. It boasted glowing reviews from happy customers and an impressive 4.7 stars on Google. The little site in the carpark of a Morrisons could be used by locals to sell or part exchange their motors. Evans Halshaw has wound down operations in the UK with several dealerships and locations closing across the country. The move comes after the firm's parent company, Pendragon, was taken over by US-based Lithia Motors last year. With the takeover restructuring was implemented and it was reported in February that several dealerships would close. The Evans Halshaw Renault and Dacia site in Doncaster and its Vauxhall sites in Portsmouth and Wolverhampton were earmarked for closure. The firms Edinburgh Vauxhall dealership was sold off to Arnold Clark as part of the restructuring. Several of its direct hub sites were also slated to cease trading with the Stoke location shutting up shop this month. Lithia reportedly cut 250 jobs last year when the US business killed off the 'CarShop' used car supermarket brand. The Stoke Evans Halshaw Direct Pod was closed without warning and still shows as open online. Why are so many car dealerships closing down? By Summer Raemason According to Business Rescue Expert there are multiple reasons why car dealerships are folding across the UK. The first major factor is rising online car sales which are beating in-person sales at dealerships. With an extensive range of comparison and second-hand sites to chose from, may car buyers don't even step foot into a dealership anymore. Secondly, the actual cost to physically run the sites has soared. Rent, wages and energy bills have all been increasing for roughly the past five years, putting many out of pocket. Car manufacturing across the globe was also hit by a semiconductor chip shortage in 2022 which made it difficult to produce new motors. The high demand with limited supply created a backlog, which although has eased, is still having an impact on the industry. A third reason for recent closures is the shift to electric cars. They are becoming more popular, given the Government initiative to be Net Zero in 2050. The industry is also affected when companies merge or are bought by rivals. This may lead to some independent names falling victim to the ongoing spate of closures. The only indication of the impending closure was a small line of text buried away on the Evans Halshaw site. It read: "The following dealerships ceased trading in May 2025: Evans Halshaw Direct Pod Stoke." The Sun contacted Evans Halshaw for comment, with the company saying: "The Direct pod at Stoke has now closed for business." The direct pod in Stoke boasted glowing online reviews with dozens of customers offering four or five stars. An employee, James, was frequently mentioned and applauded for his good communication. The site also offered a "very good price" to customers looking to sell their cars according to the reviews. Customer David Pratt said: "Many thanks to James at Car Store Direct who made the whole experience of selling my car as easy and trouble free as possible, even providing a better price for my car than a number of competitors. "A very fair and professional service I would have no hesitation in recommending my friend's and relatives to Car Store Direct and James in particular." Stephen Wood, another former customer added: "Highly recommend James and the service we received. "Quick efficient and easy, money arrived in our account earlier than expected, well done." Craig Kennedy said: "Sold my car today and I must say the overall experience via carstore has been fantastic. "James was a pleasure to deal with. I would definitely deal with James and the company again if needed." Jayne Taylor said: "James was very helpful we turned up with a flat battery he helped to restart the car he was very polite and any queries were dealt with really promptly a very easy selling of my car." All four customers offered five star reviews to the Evans Halshaw location. Evans Halshaw confirmed that eight dealerships ceased trading earlier this year. Dacia Doncaster, Dacia Sheffield, Renault Doncaster, Vauxhall Portsmouth, Vauxhall Wolverhampton, Evans Halshaw Direct Pod St Albans, Evans Halshaw Direct Pod Hanworth and Evans Halshaw Direct Pod Orpington all shut shop in January. 3
