Concern over wage subsidy scheme, voluntary redundancies for older BT Arnotts staff, and pubs in trouble

The Government's new employment wage subsidy scheme starts today, but lobby groups are warning it will not be enough to stop businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic from having to cut jobs or even close down. Charlie Taylor reports.

Meanwhile, the drinks industry has said the Government's €16 million support package for pubs shows "short-term thinking" and has called for a reduction in excise tax, writes Colin Gleeson.

Even pubs serving food that have been allowed to reopen are feeling the burn; the Porterhouse Group has recorded "a very minimal recovery" in its two Dublin city centre bar-restaurants, where a lack of tourists and office workers has had a massive impact on turnover, writes Gordon Deegan.

Brown Thomas Arnotts, which usually allows employees stay on beyond the age of 65, approached its older workers following the Covid-19 lockdown to offer them a number of options including voluntary redundancy, it has emerged. The retail chain, which is in talks with unions over cutting 150 full-time jobs, says it is conscious of protecting "more vulnerable" staff during the pandemic. Barry O'Halloran has more.

Electric car costs to remain higher than traditional engines

---

Virgin Atlantic creditors vote for €1.3bn rescue package

---

Transatlantic flight loss threat to recovery in mid-west, businesses fear

---

Uber employees sue company over stock price decline

---

The EU's overreliance on imports of critical raw materials threatens to undermine crucial industries and expose the bloc to supply squeezes by China and other resource-rich countries, the European Commission will warn member states this week.

Yesterday, Barry O'Halloran reported that Aer Lingus may be moving its transatlantic services from Shannon Airport to the UK. Today, he gauges reaction from businesses in the mid-west region, who are concerned about the potential damage such a move could have on the region's economic recovery.

In her Media & Marketing column, Bernice Harrison writes about Sky Media's AdSmart SME Support Scheme, which is attempting to lure small businesses towards geotargeted television advertising and asks, will they be convinced of its value?

In Personal Finance, Joanne Hunt has everything you need to know about funeral costs and how to avoid them becoming the debt of you, while Dominic Coyle answers a query from a reader who fears his father's nursing home chargescould leave him homeless.

Applications for The Irish Times Innovation Awards for 2020 are now invited. The awards will recognise innovations and bright ideas brought to market between January 1st, 2019 and May 30th of this year, across five categories. It's free to enter so check out irishtimes.com/innovationawards.

For all information on the Top 1000 Irish companies go to irishtimes.com/top1000.

Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our business news alerts.