As the coronavirus shutdowns continue to strain companies across the U.S., many small businesses are now facing a tough decision: whether or not to file for bankruptcy.
While programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Disaster Injury Loans (via the Small Business Administration) have attempted to save employees and keep businesses alive, new data suggests that over 40% of the 30 million small businesses in the U.S. could shutter permanently in the next six months, according to a poll by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It’s what Amanda Ballantyne, executive director of Main Street Alliance, an advocacy group for small business, said was “a crisis that will impact our economy for generations. We’re going to lose so much of the small-business sector.”
