A woman from Houghton has made a desperate Facebook plea for a job she was made redundant due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sophie Goymer received a phone call on Tuesday morning from her employer, Samuel Knight, telling her they had to let her go.
The 30-year-old had worked for the Newcastle-based recruitment company since November last year and said the business was heading in a "very good direction".
Last year the firm announced it was to create a further 40 jobs after securing “significant investment” to fuel its expansion.
But after the arrival of the global pandemic Covid-19 Sophie said the business rapidly declined and as a result made 15 staff members across three offices redundant.
Sophie explained: "I received a phone call from my employer to say that effective immediately I was being made redundant.
“They said it was due to the difficulty the business was experiencing because of the coronavirus.
"The business took a big downfall over the weekend and it was incredible how much the business lost from Friday to Monday and that was the reason they gave.
"The business is small to medium and it was growing. It was heading in a very good direction. Not long ago they celebrated being open for six years.
"But with the coronavirus it just took a rapid decline."
Sophie, who now lives in Gosforth, described the current situation as “scary” and pleaded with the government for help.
She, along with friends and family took to Facebook to share her plight in the hope someone would give her a job.
She said: "It was quite a shock. A lot of businesses are closing, it's quite scary. People's lives are changing so rapidly it's very concerning.
"I think there needs to be more support for businesses who are struggling.
“It’s an extremely worrying time for businesses right now.”
With bills to pay and the threat of the virus looming, Sophie said she is concerned for the future.
She said: "I'm very concerned, I'm feeling pretty anxious and pretty low. My job role was in the recruitment industry and obviously we're trying to get people jobs so it is a bit ironic.
"It's very difficult and there will be a lot of people in a similar situation to me at the moment.
"It's not knowing when my next opportunity will be, which is quite difficult, how long will I have to struggle?
"I live with my partner and he's still employed but I've still got bills to pay like everyone else.”
Sophie posted on professional social media site LinkedIn where employers reached out to her.
She said: "I put something on LinkedIn and I got quite a lot of messages expressing their concern and their best wishes. I have had a couple of conversations about potential roles.
"People have discussed speaking over the phone or communicating by Skype given the current situation.
"There are still places hiring, some businesses have been hiring a lot of people and on their first day they work from home immediately.”
If you can help Sophie with a new opportunity you can reach out to her here: sophiegoymer@gmail.com
