Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc’s founder and chairman, Tim Martin, announced that the employees could face delays being paid and requested the staff to take up jobs at supermarkets such as Tesco Plc. The company has circulated the video to each employee during this week, in which the chairman and founder of the company, Tim Martin stated that the company would be making use of the new government salary subsidy scheme but warned staff that they could encounter delays in getting paid for their services.
Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc, which has approximately 40,000 employees, was forced to shut down its outlets from 20th March 2020 amidst government directive. The unions and workers have criticized the company’s decision and described the chairman’s action as outrageous. Many employees have compared the company’s decision with that of other chains such as Costa, which has promised to pay employees for the upcoming eight weeks.
President of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), Ian Hodson stated that Tim Martin had ignored U.K.'s Government suggestions to stand by the workforce instead of leaving them at the time of such difficulties. He also opined that the staff needed to buy food and pay rent which will be difficult because of their low wages which have resulted in meagre savings to fall back on.
Tim Martin stated in his video that the company had received a lot of calls from supermarkets and Tesco Plc desired around 20,000 of the staff to join the chain. He further stated that if any of the staff wanted to return to the company after the restrictions are lifted, he would get the first preference to rejoin the firm.
SpoonStrike and BFAWU also claimed that J.D. Wetherspoon Plc had indicated that till 22nd March 2020, employees will only be paid for the total number of hours worked and will not get any kind of bonus which had previously been approved. A representative for J.D. Wetherspoon, Eddie Gershon told that there had been a complete delusion of what company has said. He further said that the company made clear that every staff will be paid this Friday for all work done until the pubs closed down.
Many companies in the United Kingdom that have carried out recruitment of employees in recent weeks include the likes of Aldi, which is providing 5,000 temporary positions, Lidl which has 2,500 temporary vacancies and Morrisons, which has come up with 3,500 new vacancies including drivers, staff and pickers for its delivery centres.
Lastly, All of Wetherspoon (J D) Plc’s 850 pubs in the U.K. were shut by the weekend after the government of the United Kingdom announced precautionary measures to restrict the spread of Covid-19.
Tesco Plc attempts to hire 20,000 temporary employees
On 20th March 2020, the company announced the hiring of around 20,000 employees work in its stores as the novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in exceptionally increased demand for household products and food. The company informed that it started its recruitment drive via an online channel on 18th March 2020 and from that day the company has received an overwhelming response.
The company stated that it is working around the clock to support and ensure people have access to the shopping items they require. For fulfilment of the demand of the consumers, the company is hiring around 20,000 new associates to work in stores temporarily for at least twelve weeks.
Overview of Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc
Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc (LON: JDW) operates and owns many pubs across Ireland and the United Kingdom. The company’s objective is to improve the quality of food and provide information to the consumer about the variety of products to make informed decisions with regards to their food consumption. There are 868 pubs of the company which are accredited by Cask Marque for consistency and the quality and 248 Wetherspoon pubs registered in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2020. The stock of the company is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index at the London Stock Exchange.
JDW - Share price Performance
On 25th March 2020, at around 10:15 AM (GMT), by the time of writing this report, the stock of Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc was trading at a price of GBX 915.50 per share on the London Stock Exchange, an increase in the value of around 8.34 per cent or GBX 70.50 per share, as opposed to the closing price of the stock on the previous trading day, which has been reported to be at GBX 845.0 per share.
The 52-week high price of JDW stock was recorded at GBX 1,734.0 on 17th December 2019 while its 52-week low was recorded on 19th March 2020 at a price of GBX 492.0. The current share price was lower by 47.20 per cent from the 1-year high price. The current share price was up by 86.07 per cent from the 52-week low price.
As on 25th March 2020, the market capitalization of the company was reported at GBP 884.53 million with regards to the stock’s current market price. Wetherspoon (J.D.) Plc’s free float and outstanding shares reported to 66.91 million and 104.68 million, respectively. At the time of writing the annual dividend yield was reported at 1.42 per cent.
The beta of stock has been reported to 1.35, which indicates that the share price movement is more volatile as compared to the benchmark index movement.
Overview of Tesco Plc
Tesco Plc (LON: TSCO) is one of the most renowned retailing companies operating in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Malaysia. The company has around 450,000 employees who serve millions of consumers each week via stores and online. The stock of the company is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index at the London Stock Exchange.
TSCO – Share Price Performance
At the time of writing this report, on 25th March 2020, at about 10:36 AM (GMT), Tesco Plc’s stock was trading on the London Stock Exchange at a price of GBX 216.70 per share, a decline in the value of around GBX 0.10 per share or 0.05 per cent, as compared to previous trading day closing price, which has been reported to be at GBX 216.80 per share.
The one-year high price of TSCO stock was recorded at GBX 260.40 on 16th December 2019 while its 52-week low was recorded on 23rd March 2020 at a price of GBX 203.70. The current share price was down by 16.78 per cent from the 52-week high price. The current share price was up by 6.38 per cent from the 52-week low price.
As on 25th March 2020, the market capitalization of the company was reported at GBP 21.23 billion with regards to the stock’s current market price. TSCO’s free float and outstanding shares reported to 9.59 billion and 9.79 billion, respectively. At the time of writing, the annual dividend yield was reported to 3.18 per cent, and the annual dividend of the company was reported at GBX 6.75 per share.
The beta of the stock has been reported to 0.69, which indicates that the share price movement is less volatile as compared to the movement in the comparative benchmark index.
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