Struggling with an economy weakened by Brexit and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the British government is thus trying to respond to the labor shortage in the country, especially in the hotel sector, but it Much remains to be done, testifies Arnaud de Saint-Exupéry, manager of Hyatt hotels.
Desperately looking for labor! In industry, it is estimated that nearly a million European workers have left the United Kingdom under the combined effect of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, the country’s economy is stalled for lack of labor: dry service stations, or out of stock of chicken in restaurants, due to a shortage of truck drivers. This lack is also glaring in the hotel industry. The industry employs 8-9% of the total workforce in the UK and the hotel industry ranks fourth.
Arnaud de Saint-Exupéry, vice-president of the Hyatt group in the United Kingdom and Ireland, made his calculations: the Frenchman estimates that the British hotel industry has lost more than 300,000 European workers in the last 18 months.
Today, the French say that the economy is recovering across the Channel. The 11 five-star hotels the Hyatt Group operates in the UK and Ireland have all reopened. The difficulties in fact mainly concern newcomers: with Brexit, an employer must sponsor workers from abroad, have a minimum income in the United Kingdom and speak English!
“The barriers are greater, companies can no longer hire Europeans as easily as before, because there is a cost that did not exist before. The formalities are long whereas there was none until now. to Brexit. ”
Arnaud de Saint-Exupéryto franceinfo
Write to him: arnaud.desaintexupery@hyatt.com
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