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The latest restrictions sent shockwaves through an already struggling nightlife industry in the capital.
At Youngstorget in central Oslo, seven nightclubs meet under one roof with many of the same owners.
The restaurant house had been in operation for two years when the crisis erupted in March. A new round of closings was the last thing they expected for now.
Outside one of the nightclubs, Håndslag, which is located towards Torggatam, sit the three colleagues Eystein Norderval, Bjørnar Flyum Thorsen and Gaute Haaversen-Westhassel. They seize the opportunity for a final meeting before the bar stops on Monday night.
– Yes, the purpose is the last beer before closing, confirm the three colleagues.
Difficult
Eyvind Brox at the owner company Made in Oslo was in a crisis meeting with the municipality of Oslo on Friday afternoon.
– Obviously it’s difficult. These are places designed for people to meet. Now it’s about stopping losses, and the question is how long it will be before we make money again, says Brox.
The worst situation is for the bars where people are usually close at night, but all the concepts of the restaurant group are greatly affected. Brox expects a total loss of 10 million crowns in a year in which the plan was to make a profit.
– 2020 was the year that we were going to be solid and see the positive numbers. We realized early on that there was no profit this year. Now it’s about survival. We do not have the means to bear if this situation is going to last 1.5 years until the summer.
It does not hide the fact that the box is starting to run out.
– So far, we have received good help from farm owners, public support and contributions from owners. Now soon we will have no more strings to play.
With a new round of closures, he believes new support schemes should be implemented.
– For the industry to look like today, there must be some policy options.
The bar owner believes the industry has had to shoulder a disproportionate burden when, among other things, capacity is reduced to 20-30 percent in some of the nightclubs.
– We only cover a fraction of the fixed fees. The industry should receive more in direct wage compensation or general support schemes to keep people working.
Johansen recommends a survival guarantee
Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen (Labor Party) calls on the government to propose new financial measures as soon as possible as infection control measures are tightened.
Johansen says that now that infection control measures are tightening, financial measures must also be strengthened.
– I urge the government to come to the Storting with new financial measures as soon as possible, and preferably next week, he tells NTB.
Johansen believes that the government must first provide a guarantee of survival to companies that have been viable before the corona pandemic.
– Second, people who were working before the pandemic must be sure that they will come to work when the pandemic ends. Third, the government must ensure that measures last for the duration of the pandemic. You can’t live with the measures that come for weeks and months at a time, says Johansen.
Jørn Eggum is the leader of Fellesforbundet and believes that now is the time for powerful action by the government. If they don’t come, you could end up bankrupt after bankruptcy.
– This is dramatic to put it bluntly. Those who work in these industries hurt me a lot. Here, there are people who receive between 70 and 80 percent of an already low salary. In Oslo alone, there are around 17,000 jobs in the restaurant industry, so this is very serious.
Eggum calls for a strong countercyclical policy from the government. He wants the authorities to join forces with, for example, the hotel industry to keep them open, for example, for the use of quarantined hotels.
– We spend a lot of money pacifying people and letting them go home. I wish you could see those possibilities.
Brox at Made in Oslo believes that the measures are absolutely necessary so that parts of the industry do not succumb.
Few have extra funds to continue. Now we are at risk of more bankruptcies and poorer nightlife. This means that large companies with good liquidity can buy places with cheap sales, says Brox.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
