A new online tool is tracking layoffs and furloughs in the global travel and tourism industry due to the COVID-19 virus, and the numbers are bleak.

According to the Global Travel Staffing Barometer, 100 companies around the world have either laid off or furloughed a total of 537,990 people – and two-thirds of those cuts have happened since mid-March.

The barometer has been created by advisory and analytics firm videc.

“The travel industry is crumbling before our eyes with more than half a million layoffs in less than a month. Amid the global spread of the pandemic, companies of all shapes and sizes – from the billion-dollar valued to startups – are trimming costs, disbanding, and letting go off their most precious asset – the workforce,” says Virendra Jain, co-founder and CEO of videc.

“The Global Travel Staffing Barometer quantifies the discharged staff and aims to become the central hub for tracking the loss of human resources and, in time, will offer the first glimpses for the road to recovery for the travel industry.”

The company is gathering the data from company announcements, news reports and updates from those affected. In addition to tracking layoffs and furloughs, the barometer indicates the number of companies that have implemented both staff and management pay cuts.

Filters allow sorting based on the company’s industry sector, the location and whether it has implemented cost-cutting or if it has fully closed.

The data currently covers 150 companies, and it is being updated daily.

Read original story on Phocuswire.