Workers are stood down as Bonds, Bras N Things and Champion close stores due to coronavirus

Thousands of workers have been stood down after an iconic Australian retailer closed 450 stores amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hanes Brands, which owns Bonds, Bras N Things, Sheridan and Champion, announced the closure of its stores on Tuesday.

About 3,000 employees have been stood down as a result of the closure. 

Hanes has vowed to continue to pay the full salary to all permanent team members for at least two weeks.

The move comes as stricter social distancing rules are implemented to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. 

Hanes Brands, which owns Bonds, Bras N Things, Sheridan and Champion, announced the closure of its stores on Tuesday

About 3,000 employees have been stood down as a result of the closure

Employees can then access their leave entitlements. The online stores will remian operational.

David Bortolussi, Group President, Hanes Brands said they have been doing their best to keep stores open and staff safe, however, the new government implemented rules have made it challenging to continue to operate.

‘With the federal and state governments announcing … increasingly stringent measures … we now have no choice but to close all of our store networks across Australia, to protect our store teams and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.

‘We are doing the best we can to support our team members during this difficult period and look forward to looking after our customers again in store when we get through this challenging period.’

The move comes as Australians are being urged to stay at home if they can, and only leave their houses if it is essential as the coronavirus cases continues to rise. 

Peter Alexander is among the stores that is having to close down due to the coronavirus

Smiggle is also owned by Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments which announced the shut down

General Pants is closing all stores until at least April 22 due to the coronavirus fallout

The restrictions have seen a number of businesses close, including Glassons, Portmans, General Pants, Peter Alexander, Smiggle and Just Jeans due to declining business.

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, which owns General Pants, Smiggle, and Peter Alexander, shut all its Australian stores at 6pm on Thursday.

Around 9,000 of the company’s staff around the world will be stood down without pay until at least April 22.

The company said it does not intend to pay rent on any of its stores. Around 70 per cent of its leases in Australia and New Zealand run out this year or are already expired.

The group’s bosses will be working from home without pay.

RAG Group, which owns Tarocash, YD and Connor, is closing 500 stores and standing down 3,000 workers from 5pm on Friday.

Thousands of hospitality workers were out of work from Monday when the prime minister announced the new measures (pictured: People lining up outside Centrelink this week)

Thousands more jobs are expected to be lost as a result of the pandemic (Pictured: A Centrelink office in Melbourne)

Meanwhile, Accent Group – which owns Athlete’s Foot, Platypus and Hype – has announced it is closing 522 stores and standing down around 5,000 staff.

The company will close all stores from 5pm on Friday for four weeks.

During the stand down period, employees will continue to accrue entitlements and may access their annual and long service leave entitlements.

ALH pub group has stood down 8,000 workers and jeweller Michael Hill has told 2,500 people they no longer have a job.

Flight Centre has announced 3,800 job losses in Australia – and 6,000 globally – after the Prime Minister banned going overseas.

Pubs and gyms have been forced to close to prevent mass gatherings.

Cafes and restaurants are only allowed to offer a takeaway service.  

Thousands of Australians have already been left without work as a result of the changes. 

Centrelink offices have been flooded with desperate Aussies hoping to get the job seeker benefit. 

Restaurants on Melbourne’s popular Chapel Street have been forced to resort to takeaway services only, in light of the new restrictions 

The government has been working to soften the blow to the economy, pledging to support workers who lose their jobs. 

Scott Morrison announced an extra $66billion worth of spending on Sunday, bringing the total survival package to $189billion – or 10 percent of Australia’s GDP.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 4,559

New South Wales: 2,032

Victoria: 917

Queensland: 743

Western Australia: 364

South Australia: 337

Australian Capital Territory: 80

Tasmania: 69

Northern Territory: 15

TOTAL CASES:  4,559

RECOVERED: 312

DEAD: 19

A series of bills was approved on Monday night, with two packages worth $17.6billion and $66billion at the heart of the Morrison government’s response.

In separate legislation, the government set aside a further $40billion for urgent and unforeseen spending associated with the pandemic, likely to cause a recession.

The government will no longer need legislation to make changes to welfare settings after passing an amendment to the package, giving the social services minister unprecedented powers.

The money is to help businesses survive the shutdown, and to help people buy food and pay their bills through an extended period when they might be unable to work due to quarantines and lockdowns.

It includes wage subsidies so businesses can keep staff on the payroll even when money is not coming in, and early superannuation access for people struggling to make ends meet. A number of welfare payments almost doubled.

Banks have also offered a six-month repayment holiday for mortgage holders.

More to come. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk