Brexit: UK labor shortage could cancel Christmas

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McDonald’s (MCD) has already been forced to remove milkshakes from its menu in the UK and Nando’s has closed 45 restaurants because its signature peri peri chicken dish was running out. But suppliers warn of more disruption which means Britons may have to go without holiday items like turkeys and pigs in blankets when they celebrate their first post-Brexit Christmas.

National chicken production has already been cut by 10%, according to the British Poultry Council, which says 16% of the industry’s jobs are currently not filled. The industry group estimates that Christmas turkey production will fall by a fifth.

“When you don’t have people, you have a problem – and that’s something we see across the entire supply chain. The employment crisis is a Brexit problem, and it’s been widely reported across the food and beverage sector,” said Richard Griffiths, chief executive. British Poultry Council, in a statement.

Supermarkets are warning that shortages could worsen ahead of the crucial holiday shopping period. Richard Walker, managing director of the Iceland supermarket chain, told BBC Radio on Wednesday that stores were already running short of some products including bread and soft drinks. Meanwhile, the chain is struggling to build up the stock needed for the peak season.

“The shortages that consumers like Nando’s and McDonald’s have been seeing in recent days and weeks highlights the huge impact of this. [truck driver shortage] “The real concern is that time is quickly running out as we approach the very busy Christmas period, during which a strong supply chain is vital for everyone,” Walker said in a statement.

Other grocery chains are in a similar situation. Supermarket giant Tesco (TSCDY) said Thursday it is struggling with low availability on a number of products, while rival Co-op said it is hiring up to 3,000 temporary workers to help keep its shelves stocked. Co-op CEO Steve Morells told The Times.

Industry groups have blamed a labor shortage on a tight labor market and an exodus of EU citizens from truck driving, farming and food processing jobs. The Road Transport Association says the UK is short of around 100,000 truck drivers, 20,000 of whom are EU citizens who left the country after Brexit.

Global supply chains are under tremendous pressure from the fallout from the coronavirus. And in recent months, the staff shortage in Britain has been exacerbated by rules that require people to isolate themselves if they come into contact with someone with coronavirus. These rules have since been repealed but the problem hasn’t gone away.

Meatpacking plants are understaffed by about 14%, according to the British Meat Manufacturers Association. Nick Allen, the group’s chief executive, told the BBC last week that the industry had “lost more and more employment in Europe” after Brexit, and was now six weeks late producing pigs in blankets – or sausages wrapped in bacon – for Christmas. birth. meals.

“We have a highly resilient food supply chain and well-established ways to work with the food sector to address disruptions to the food supply chain,” a British government spokesperson said in a statement.

There is no easy solution

Employers have been unable to hire replacement workers from the European Union due to the tightening of immigration rules imposed by the UK government after Brexit. Alternatively, some companies including Tesco (TSCDF) are offering drivers a signature bonus of £1,000 ($1,375).

But this may not attract enough workers to the labor market with a record 1 million jobs and an unemployment rate of less than 5%. Walker, from an Iceland supermarket, said the government had made the shortage of truck drivers worse by dropping the profession from a list of “skilled workers” that would allow more immigration.

“The reason for this is the government’s failure to appreciate the importance of [truck] Drivers and the work they do for us. But even if they are added right away, it may take four to six weeks because they need to get the right to work [document] And you have PCR [coronavirus] A place to live – they must be recruited. “It is not a light switch that will happen overnight,” he told BBC radio.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, has called on the government to quickly increase the number of driving tests given to truck drivers, introduce temporary visas to EU workers and change how driver training is funded.

Griffiths, from the British Poultry Council, said the government should extend a program of seasonal agricultural workers to the meat sector.

“Our requests are clear and they provide the government with a way out of this problem. If that means relaxing immigration rules or accepting regulatory compliance with the EU, these are the steps that need to be taken to put British food on a path to recovery.” He said.

The UK government has announced some measures to increase the number of driving tests for truck drivers. But a government spokesman said “most solutions” would be led by industry.

“We want to see employers make long-term investments in the UK’s local workforce rather than relying on labor from abroad, and our jobs plan helps people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back to work,” the spokesperson added.

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