Companies
which rely on the Grand National to boost their income could face the prospect
of laying off staff if the year’s biggest race is cancelled because of the
foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The
cancellation of the race would also impact on the recruitment industry in the
Northwest, which would normally seek to employ temporary catering staff to deal
with the hospitality boom created as 50,000 people gather around Aintree each
April.
Stephen
Pearse, policy specialist at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said a cancellation
would have a knock-on effect on transport and hospitality industries.
He
said, “Smaller companies could really struggle as a result of foot-and-mouth.
But the concern is not having any work to give staff – many of the people who
work for contract caterers are part-timers and this could have an impact on the
recruitment industry.
“There
will be a lot of hotels that will suffer as a result of this and if it is
rescheduled it will not be the same.”