We will certainly see more bankruptcies because more people have to pay back their tax debts and have had a very exposed situation for many years, says Jonas Siljhammar, CEO of Visita, to Sveriges Radio's Ekot.
Last year, a total of 943 companies in the restaurant sector went bankrupt, twice as many as in the years before the pandemic. Many, to some extent, due to difficulties in paying back the tax debt that the government used as a stimulus for exposed industries during the pandemic.
Soaring inflation and higher food prices have further contributed to the economic crisis in the sector.
One believed that it would soon get better times, so this is a short-term measure, but when it becomes so many years and one does not recover, then it becomes a very tough situation, says Jonas Siljhammar to Ekot.
Around 3,500 full-time jobs disappeared from the sector in 2024.
