COVID 19 Update 68
Mid- Hudson Region Getting Closer, Construction Can Begin “Staging”
In Friday’s press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said if deaths continue to decline and contact tracing increases, the Long Island and Mid-Hudson regions will be eligible to begin phase one of reopening next week. Currently, Long Island has met four of the seven metrics and the Mid-Hudson region has met five of the seven metrics. The State is projecting both regions will meet the remaining metrics in the coming days. The Hudson Valley region includes Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties. The Long Island region includes Nassau and Suffolk counties. Phase one of reopening includes the construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, retail (limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off), manufacturing, and wholesale trade industries.
While the Mid-Hudson region has NOT yet met the criteria to begin phase 1 of reopening, all businesses, including essential businesses, must develop a COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan. This plan does not need to be submitted to a state agency for approval but must be retained on the premises of the business and must made available to the New York State Department of Health (DOH) or local health or safety authorities in the event of an inspection.
A template for a plan may be found here.
ESD Will Administer NY Forward Loan Fund for Firms Under 20 Employees
Today Governor Cuomo announced the New York Forward Loan Fund (NYFLF), a new economic recovery loan program aimed at supporting New York State small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords as they reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak and NYS on PAUSE.
NYFLF targets the state’s small businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (90% of all businesses), nonprofits and small landlords that have seen a loss of rental income.
More information can be found here
Trump’s Ford Plant Visit had its Political Moments, But Manufacturing Won the Day
On Thursday, President Donald Trump continued his thank you tour of American manufacturers who’ve flipped their primary operations to make personal protective equipment — to help combat COVID-19 — with a stop at Ford Motor Co.’s Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti.
It was the Herculean effort of Ford and GE Healthcare, companies working together to make ventilators, that was the main focus of the stop. Significantly, this was not the automaker’s first rodeo with respect to producing different equipment to help the nation. Just google what they manufactured for World War II.
“I think when we look at this crisis as a country” and ask “you know, ‘Which industry is positioned to help us not only in terms of sophisticated machinery, but can do a lot … quickly,’ the auto industry is uniquely positioned to do that,” said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. who with Ford CEO Jim Hackett accompanied Trump through the plant.
Read the story at the Detroit Free Press
Pay Cuts Become More Common in Pandemic Downturn
A growing number of companies in sectors hit by the coronavirus pandemic are turning to pay cuts instead of layoffs to reduce their labor costs, hoping to preserve their workforces for a fast recovery.
Businesses that emerge in the best shape from a period of pay reductions will probably have these things in common:
- They are consistent and fair; employees doing the same work get the same cuts, and top executives sacrifice more.
- They are open about business financials and the company’s strategy for recovery.
- They have two-way conversations with employees and listen to workers’ ideas.
- They restore original pay as soon as it becomes sustainable.
Congressional Budget Office: Unemployment to Remain above 9 Percent Into 2021, Economy Shrink by 5.6%
The nonpartisan agency forecast that the unemployment rate would peak at 15.8 percent next quarter and drop to 11.5 percent at year’s end. Unemployment would eventually dip down to 8.6 percent by the end of 2021, but the average for the year would hold at 9.3 percent.
The CBO painted a picture of an economy that will be far from fully recovered, even by the end of next year. “Compared with their values two years earlier, by the fourth quarter of 2021 real GDP [gross domestic product] is projected to be 1.6 percent lower, the unemployment rate 5.1 percentage points higher, and the employment-to-population ratio 4.8 percentage points lower,” the report said.
The budget office also projected that the economy will contract at an annualized rate of 37.7 percent in the second quarter, before recovering at a 21.5 annualized rate in the third quarter and a 10.4 percent rate in the fourth.
All in all, the economy would close the year out 5.6 percent smaller than it started.
Eye of the Hurricane—Can Businesses Avoid Going Broke? – An Economist Podcast
AMERICA AND Europe face a wave of corporate bankruptcies as a result of covid-19. But will some businesses be able to restructure rather than go broke? Also, why some are calling for the Federal Reserve to turn to negative interest rates to alleviate the slump. And, is now the time for entrepreneurial true grit?
Rachana Shanbhogue hosts. Runtime: 24 min
Jeremy Pyles – CEO and Founder of Niche Modern – A Council of Industry Podcast
“The Beauty of our process defines who we are.” For over a decade, Niche has established a signature collection of stunning modern lighting products They are a small company committed to bringing the most luxurious modern lighting to consumers, designers, and architects across the globe.
Harold King and Jeremy talk about Niche’s New York City roots and its journey to its new home in Beacon NY. We learn about the challenges the company faces from “knock-offs” the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown and Jeremy’s commitment to reopening Niche in a safe efficient manner. Jeremy also talks about his personal experience falling ill with the virus.
learn more and listen to this podcast »
