Around 100,000 truck drivers are missing in Great Britain. Many left the country after Brexit. Now the shelves in the supermarkets remain empty.
British supermarkets are sounding the alarm over the acute shortage of truck drivers in the country. “The bottlenecks are at a worse level than I’ve ever seen,” said the boss of the supermarket chain Co-op, Steve Murrells, the “Times” (Wednesday). His company has started to retrain employees to become drivers.
The Iceland chain is also alarmed. “We have to transport a lot of goods between now and Christmas and a stable supply chain is vital for everyone,” said Iceland boss Richard Walker in a BBC interview. “We already had to cancel a Christmas, I don’t want this to be a problem.” Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson banned the British from all social Christmas plans at short notice because of the appearance of the alpha variant of the corona virus. The Tesco chain also confirmed concerns about Christmas supplies.
The reason for the bottlenecks is a significant shortage of truck drivers who transport goods from A to B. The Road Haulage Association assumes around 100,000 drivers are missing. This also has to do with the fact that many drivers from Europe left the country after Brexit. Complicated and expensive visa procedures are now necessary, which is why hardly any new ones are added. In addition, thousands of drivers retire every month and there are not enough offspring. Tens of thousands of driving tests have been canceled due to the pandemic.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
