The state of the restaurant industry

Re:The state of the restaurant industry by wozniacki on Tuesday March 17, 2020 @05:00PM (#22610373)

  Restaurants employ ~10% of working Americans. A lot of
  people are going to lose jobs.

No one disputes that. Although that 10% figure needs corroboration. As other comments have pointed out restaurants have switched to take-out and delivery and will need ample workers for those operations.

But meanwhile what happens to the other 90% Americans who are working who face uncertain futures - some even in underrepresented sectors or even non-union sectors? How do they make rent or their mortgage payments?

All I'm asking is why are restaurant workers deserving of such singular attention and their concerns need such elevation over the rest of the entire working classes of America including other blue & white collar workers?

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Re:The state of the restaurant industry by milesskorpen on Tuesday March 17, 2020 @06:32PM (#22611295)

It's a SINGLE INDUSTRY that represents 10% of our workforce; I think that's more than any other. Overwhelmingly they are non-unionized. Profit margins for restaurants are very slim (avg. around 5%). Take-out/delivery is not going to come close to replacing the lost business. Many restaurants will close - many already have.

This is not to say other industries (like hotels) won't also be badly hurt. But restaurants are probably the single largest highly effected sector.

[ Parent | on HN ]