Coronavirus: Bosses in the East warn of job cuts as second lockdown looms
Watch a live report from ITV Anglia reporter Charlie Frost
The company which operates Stansted Airport and bosses at Clacton Pier are the latest to warn of more redundancies as the current financial crisis continues.
It comes as businesses face the start of a second lockdown in less than two days time.
The owners of Clacton Pier announced on Monday they will be letting some staff go.
Despite the continuation of the furlough scheme, it isn't enough to enable them to keep everyone on. The business is heading into its least lucrative time of the year, having already had its most difficult year yet.
Clacton Pier's communication manager Nigel Brown said: "When Essex went into Tier 2 we looked at cutting hours for staff, but then when the announcement came for the lockdown I think that was the tipping point."
Unsurprisingly, Clacton Pier is not alone in their difficulties. Today, the Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group, the owner of Stansted Airport, warned jobs will be cut if there the aviation industry doesn't receive urgent government help.
Zoos in the East of England are also looking to the government for help. Today, the bosses of Banham Zoo in Norfolk and Africa Alive in Suffolk spoke to politicians to stress the challenges they're facing.
The Curator of Colchester Zoo told ITV Anglia she fears the impact of a second lockdown on the zoo's future.
"We've already had a number of redundancies, unfortunately, our workforce has been reduced quite dramatically," Sarah Forsyth said.
"We were hoping that wouldn't go any further and we'd be able to maintain numbers over the winter. Another month's lockdown, is going to put a question mark to that as well."
Hayley Murfitt from Neaves and Neat Recruitment Agency in Ely said competition within the job market has spiked.
She added: "There's a big barrier in terms of the number of applications that people are making to the number of interviews that they are getting.
"As much as we want to support as many people as we can, there are a huge number of people who are available and finding this time particularly difficult."
So, an uncertain time for businesses and of course, those looking for work too.