AO chief warns UK economy is sliding towards recession
John Roberts added that recruitment difficulties and reduced flexibility were compounding the pressure
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AO World founder and chief executive John Roberts has warned that the UK is heading into recession in a recorded interview with the BBC yesterday (24 September) as inflation and labour pressures weigh on businesses.
According to Roberts, Britain is “heading into another” downturn, noting that rising costs were affecting companies across sectors. He also pointed to business leaders already considering staff cuts.
In addition, he added that recruitment difficulties and reduced flexibility were compounding the pressure.
Roberts said: “We have inflation coming through and we are now feeling that in the costs across businesses. Business leaders that I speak to are looking at how they can take people out.
“Costs walk into businesses on legs, those legs have got much more expensive. It is much more difficult to recruit people, it’s much less flexible than it has ever been to recruit people.”
His remarks come as consumer confidence fell in September. Expectations for the overall economy dropped to -36 from -32 in August, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The warning follows data from Asda’s income tracker earlier this week, which also showed disposable income declined for 60% of households in August.
