Sir Richard Branson has announced that he will be pumping $250 million into Virgin Group to help save the jobs of his staff, which have been put in jeopardy due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Virgin Group, which comprises companies Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Voyages and Virgin Hotels, employ more than 70,000 people across 35 countries.

In his blog, Branson said: “Because many of our businesses are in industries like travel, leisure and wellness, they are in a massive battle to survive and save jobs. Our airlines have had to ground almost all their planes; our cruise line has had to postpone its launch; our health clubs and hotels have had to close their doors and all bookings to our holiday company have stopped.

“We are supporting our people and our businesses in their fight for survival in numerous ways. We are providing a quarter of billion dollars over the next weeks and months to protect them and save jobs – that is likely just the start.

“The chances of securing widespread economic recovery will depend critically upon governments around the world successfully mobilising various newly announced support programmes, which in these unique circumstances will be essential to protect people’s livelihoods.

“We are also listening to our team members around the world to see what other things we can do to support them, their families and communities and will be rolling out a series of programmes over the coming months.

“Our people have and, will always be, my number one priority. It is their future job security and their wellbeing that I am 100 per cent focusing on, in these frightening and unprecedented times.”

To read the full post, visit virgin.com.

Our view:

The cruise industry is facing an unprecedented and ever-changing situation, and we are committed to keeping you informed with the most up-to-date news. However, we firmly believe that the cruise industry will bounce back. When it does, we’ll be on hand to help you get back to selling the cruises that people love.