Enterprise leaders are ‘personally frightened’ of coronavirus

CNBC’s Jim Cramer mentioned Friday enterprise leaders he has spoken to are deeply frightened in regards to the coronavirus outbreak, citing as proof the cancellation of the Cellular World Congress.

“The folks I do know who have been alleged to go there, it was type of like a cruise — I am not going there. I am not going to threat going to Barcelona,” Cramer mentioned on “Squawk on the Road.”

“You are not used to listening to these hard-bitten executives say, ‘I am personally, personally frightened,'” he added.

The world’s largest commerce present for the cell phone business had been scheduled for later this month in Barcelona, Spain. About 100,000 folks attended in 2019. However organizers this yr canceled the occasion on Wednesday, saying “international concern concerning the coronavirus outbreak, journey concern and different circumstances” made it “unattainable” to carry it.

LG, Sony, Ericsson, Nokia, Nvidia, Intel and Amazon determined to not attend earlier than the official cancellation, placing strain on organizers.

Greater than 64,000 folks have been recognized with coronavirus, and a minimum of 1,380 folks have died. The overwhelming majority of instances are in China.

As of earlier this week, Spain solely had two confirmed instances of the coronavirus.

The choice to cancel MWC speaks to the wide-ranging results of the outbreak, the “Mad Cash” host mentioned.

It was clear the coronavirus was impacting the enterprise neighborhood, with factories shutting down as employees stayed at residence and airways canceling hundreds of flights to China, for instance.

Cruise operators even have canceled journeys, and a few ships that had already set sail are underneath quarantine.

However Cramer mentioned the MWC cancellation sheds gentle on how executives are viewing the state of affairs with reference to their very own well being, not simply the welfare of their staff.

“That has not been the story. Now we’re on the, ‘I do not wish to get damage [phase],'” he mentioned.

— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report.