In reply to pancakeandchips:
My wording was a bit extreme so apologies for that.
In response, JG have an excellent reputation for supporting the locals that support their trips across the globe. They ensure they pay fairly and have done a lot during difficult times in the past to support local workers. I suspect this is not the case for a lot of similar operators.
Why do you think they will not be supporting their sherpas at the moment? They have set up a crowdfunding campaign to support a charity that supports sherpas most in need. They are looking to support the sherpa community in general and not just the relatively few individuals they work with. I think this is commendable.
More broadly, I suspect JG will be struggling themselves over this period. Companies like JG run on extremely tight margins, I believe in some cases even running trips at a loss. I am sure their business model is based on subcontracting for the vast majority of their work (they will have very few of their own employees). It would be unrealistic for them to build up a contingency to support what will be many hundreds of people across the world that support their trips. These people will be self-employed or working for local companies. Even major international companies are laying off or furloughing large numbers of their staff, let alone some small company like JG.
I do not work for JG but have used them in the past.