Uncertainty has been placed over the future of 1600 jobs at Burger King restaurants across the UK – and that could affect staff in East Kilbride.
The concern comes after boss of the fast food giants, Alasdair Murdoch, criticised the UK government for not doing enough to help the restaurant industry.
Speaking following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s rescue package announcement on Wednesday, Mr Murdoch warned 10 per cent of Burger Kings outlets could permanently close.
He added: “I don’t think you can ever get over the top of this problem.
““If we can possibly avoid it, we will, e don’t want to lose any.
“We try very hard not to, but one’s got to assume somewhere between five and ten per cent of the restaurants might not be able to survive.
“And it’s not just us – I think this applies to everyone out there in our industry
Burger King has reopened about 370 of its 530 restaurants in the UK, including the one at Kingsgate Retail Park.
On Wednesday Mr Sunak said the government would subsidise 50 per cent of restaurant bills up to £10 per person in August, in an effort to jumpstart consumer spending.
Mr Murdoch said that it was an “innovative approach” and that Burger King expected to participate.
But despite that scheme and other government support, Mr Murdoch said many of his stores could close because of overheads like rent and “taking absolutely no money”.
The chain has more than 16,500 UK staff and such closures would lead to between 800 to 1600 job losses, he said.
