Lotto Soudal is forced to take measures to endure Covid-19 crisis
Mar 28 2020 06:17 am CET
Image: Lotto Soudal logo
Lotto Soudal has become one of the affected parties by the crisis of the coronavirus and has been forced to take measures due to the economical moment of the world.
The crisis of the Covid-19 virus has forced the postponement of the entire cycling season. As consequence of this, the team can't compete to win races -which includes money prizes- and its sponsors are going through a rough economic period that also affects them directly.
"Postponement of races also affects the majority of support staff," explained the team through a statement. "Mechanics, soigneurs, physiotherapists and bus drivers are forced to step back and become temporarily unemployed. For the moment, the employees will fall back on the system of temporary unemployment due to force majeure. Self-employed personnel, whose contract is temporarily suspended, will be able to benefit from bridging finance support measures.
"All these measures by the Belgian government make it possible for companies to reduce their personnel costs even without having to fire people. In less than a month, more than 1 million people have ended up in temporary unemployment in Belgium."
And the riders are also doing their part to try to help Lotto Soudal in these difficult moments. "The 27 riders of the Lotto Soudal team, meanwhile, continue to train to be competition ready as soon as races are organized again," the statement continued.
"In solidarity with staff and sponsors, the riders, just like the entire management team and all administrative staff, have voluntarily decided to waive part of their wages, until the team races again. This decision was taken without discussion and with unanimity. It was clear to everyone that particular circumstances require particular team actions."
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