Greece vows to protect jobs as virus hits growth expectations

The Greek economy will grow only slightly this year due to the impact of coronavirus, the finance minister said on Wednesday, hours after the government said it would spend up to 450 million euros to protect jobs during the epidemic.

Greece, which exited its latest bailout in 2018 and is recovering after a multi-year downturn, had previously estimated economic growth of 2.8 percent this year.

"Our estimate for the growth rate this year is that we will be just a little over 0 percent," Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told ANT1 television, forecasting lower revenues because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The government said earlier it would spend up to 450 million euros ($490 million) to protect half a million jobs during the epidemic, offering financial incentives to firms hit by a retail lockdown if they refrained from sacking staff.

Greece reported...