Coronavirus Disrupting the Industry in 2020

The biggest story at the moment in the entire world is the rapid spread of coronavirus globally. The coronavirus outbreak from China has brought the world to a standstill. Over 150 countries are fighting a battle with an invisible army with millions of lives at stake wrestling the pandemic and its human, social, and economic costs. As the cases started to surge. The virus outbreak s disrupting the global technology sector as operations in the world’s largest tech manufacturing hub are threatened.

Coronavirus has erupted the global value chains essential for economic growth with sales slumping conferences being cancelled. And workers being instructed to stay at home. Companies with direct exposure to China were the first ones to get affected the earliest sending financial markets into correction territory, down more than 10 percent. The COVID-19 outbreak has shown how some of the biggest economies in the world lack preparedness and response to the risk of a pandemic. The virus showed how businesses around the world are not ready or properly equipped to face such a threat.

It is quite clear that the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the manufacturing and global value chains and the effect of this can be seen in the global economic stats. CEOs around the world are muddling to respond to the questions about supply security, employee security, and the financial impact of it all. Businesses around the world are finding it impossible to mitigate through the global lockdown, addressing reputational risks, and navigating market uncertainty, which is driving down demand.

The WHO (World Health Organization) declared earlier this year that COVID-19 is a pandemic with a certainty that the virus will inevitably spread to all parts of the world affecting individuals, businesses, and the governments alike. Large scale quarantines, social distancing, lockdowns, and travel restricting, have produced a recession driving a sharp fall in the consumer and business spending. Unemployment levels are expected to rise sharply with consumers staying home and business laying off workers due to a huge loss in revenue.

The demand suffers as the consumers cut their spending forcing a self-enforcing downward spiral. The financial system suffers significant distress with a full-scale banking crisis on its way. If not dealt with properly by the world governments. The global economic impact is severe approaching a global financial crisis with the GDP contracting significantly in most major economies..

If there is any good news amidst the global panic. It is the fact that things are coming back online in China with the pace of coronavirus cases slowing down and the workers returning to their jobs. The world is nothing if not resilient.