Primark to Reject Sunak’s $37.9 Million Payout, Times Says

(Bloomberg) --

Primark Stores Ltd. will turn down a 30 million-pound ($37.9 million) bonus payment it could claim from the U.K. government, putting pressure on other large companies not to cash in at British taxpayers’ expense, the Sunday Times reported.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak last week announced 30 billion pounds of tax cuts and extra spending as the country seeks to boost an economy still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. He said companies that get staff back working and keep them until January will get a 1,000 pound handout for every job saved.

Businesses that have furloughed thousands of staff, including Primark, which had 30,000 on the support program, are in line for multimillion-pound payouts even if they are not struggling financially, the Times reported.

A number of Britain’s largest companies have furloughed staff in an effort to curb costs, including British Airways, Nissan Motor Corp, energy firm Ovo Energy Ltd., JD Wetherspoon Plc and McDonald’s Corp., the Daily Mail reported. Spokespeople for Wetherspoon and Ovo declined to comment to Bloomberg. Nissan, McDondald’s and British Airways didn’t respond outside normal business hours on Sunday.

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