Australia’s largest car dealership group, AP Eagers has been forced to lay-off 1,200 employees as COVID-19 continues to cause struggles in the automotive industry.

With dealerships remaining open around the country despite strict social distancing rules and travel restrictions, AP Eagers made the difficult decision to announce the lay-offs, a move that would save the company approximately $6 million a month.

The company has also enrolled in the Federal Government’s JobKeeper payment scheme and are expecting a significant proportion of their employees 8,200 remaining employees to qualify for the payment.

AP Eagers chief executive Martin Ward said the unprecedented times upon us has greatly impacted the automotive industry but was confident that the actions taken by AP Eagers would help the company through this period.

“While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been severe on the automotive retail industry, AP Eagers has responded swiftly and preemptively to meet the unprecedented challenges caused by the ongoing health and economic crisis,” said Ward.

“The duration and depth of COVID-19’s impact on our business remains uncertain but with strong foundations, decisive measures to preserve liquidity and the support of all our stakeholders, we are confident of overcoming this global pandemic and rebounding quickly.”

AP Eagers has also announced that they have reached agreements to waive or defer 50 per cent of their lease commitments over the next three months.

AP Eagers aren’t the only automotive giant to announce job cuts in recent days.

Australia’s leading online car sales website Carsales temporarily stood down 250 of its staff last week and cut executives’ pay by 20 per cent in cost cutting measures.

Source: Brisbane Times | AP Eagers cuts 1200 jobs, defers rent as car sales stall

1 May 2020