More than nine million workers are expected to be furloughed under the government's jobs retention scheme (JRS), worrying new figures reveal.
It's expected to cost the taxpayer more than £40billion - with everyone from easyJet to Wetherspoons and even Philip Green's Arcadia calling on the Government for emergency help during the coronavirus crisis.
Hundreds of small and large scale businesses across the UK have also placed their workers on furlough in the past fortnight.
Many have shut for the foreseeable future, while others have placed a percentage of staff onto the scheme to help temporarily reduce their overheads.