BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.

Hello, I'm Matthew Price. This is Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4.

We ask one big question about one big story.

Today, will coronavirus take away our jobs? Italy is in lockdown so people have been trying to cheer each other up.

This was them in Sicily.

They've been out on their balconies, they're singing, they're playing

tambourines during their quarantine. Back in January, don't know if you remember, we played you people in Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic started,

they were shouting and singing to each other from the balconies of their high-rises. At first this was just a health story but now it is pretty clear that jobs and money are taking a massive hit.

Because of the travel bans the airlines have been the latest to start cutting jobs.

Norwegian Air has just said that it's laying off 7,300 people, temporarily.

Virgin Atlantic is asking staff to take two months unpaid leave.

We know it's going to be happening in other companies

in other sectors.

Restaurants and cafes are going to be really hit hard. We'll find out some of the things being done elsewhere to help people who

lose their jobs. We'll also find out what is likely to happen to workers in the coming months. One group of workers who are particularly worried of freelancers,

and of course we've now also got an awful lot more people working in the gig economy,

and this is a global problem. So we asked a couple of people in New York,

Harriet and Ray, to talk us through what's happening to them. Today's producer Duncan

sent them some questions and this is what they sent back.

Hello Ray, I mean, hello Duncan, it's Harriet and Ray here.

And I ask Ray some questions and he'll do the same to me.

What do you do and how has it been affected?

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