Beer gardens in England will not be allowed to open before the end of the month, Downing Street has said, quashing suggestions that ministers were considering allowing pubs to serve beer outside from 22 June.
A group of ministers nicknamed the “Save Summer Six” was reportedly weighing up plans to open beer gardens, amid concern that the hospitality sector is facing up to 3.5m job losses unless pubs, restaurants and cafes resume business soon.
But Downing Street played down suggestions that the government was preparing to accelerate its phased blueprint for restarting the economy.
The coronavirus lockdown has virtually halted international travel and tourism, hitting airlines and other travel companies, aerospace and auto manufacturers and oil companies hard.
As these businesses adjust to dramatically reduced revenue projections, job losses are starting to mount alarmingly. More than 40,000 redundancies have already been announced across these sectors, with more than 10,000 likely to be in the UK.
Rolls-Royce
The jet-engine manufacturer has confirmed that 3,000 job cuts, of a planned 9,000 worldwide, will be made in the UK. Rolls-Royce will make the first round of redundancies through a voluntary programme, with about 1,500 posts being lost at its headquarters in Derby, as well as 700 redundancies in Inchinnan, near Glasgow, another 200 at its Barnoldswick site in Lancashire, and 175 in Solihull, Warwickshire.
Bentley
The luxury carmaker intends to shrink its workforce by almost a quarter, slashing 1,000 roles through a voluntary redundancy scheme. The majority of Bentley’s 4,200 workers are based in Crewe in Cheshire.
Aston Martin Lagonda
The Warwickshire-based luxury car manufacturer has also announced 500 redundancies.
BP
The oil company plans to make 10,000 people redundant worldwide, including an estimated 2,000 in the UK, by the end of the year. The BP chief executive, Bernard Looney, said that the majority of people affected would be those in office-based jobs, including at the most senior levels. BP said it would reduce the number of group leaders by a third, and protect the “frontline” of the company, in its operations.
British Airways
The UK flag carrier is holding consultations to make up to 12,000 of its staff redundant, a reduction of one in four jobs at the airline. BA intends to cut roles among its cabin crew, pilots and ground staff, while significantly reducing its operations at Gatwick airport.
Virgin Atlantic
Richard Branson’s airline is to cut more than 3,000 jobs, more than a third of its workforce, and will shut its operations at Gatwick.
EasyJet
The airline has announced plans to cut 4,500 employees, or 30% of its workforce.
Ryanair
The Irish airline intends to slash 3,000 roles and reduce staff pay by up to a fifth.
P&O Ferries
The shipping firm intends to cut more than a quarter of its workforce, a loss of 1,100 jobs. The company, which operates passenger ferries between Dover and Calais, and across the Irish Sea, as well as Hull to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, will initially offer employees voluntary redundancy.
Centrica
The owner of British Gas is to slash 5,000 jobs, saying it was looking to cut costs by simplifying its business structure. The company is removing three layers of management, with more than half of the job losses falling on leadership roles, including half its 40-strong senior team.
Johnson Matthey
A major supplier of material for catalytic converters in cars, Johnson Matthey announced plans to make 2,500 redundancies worldwide, or 17% of its total workforce. The group said it was the result of the impact of the pandemic, and the uncertain outlook for the car industry.
Heathrow Airport
Voluntary redundancy has been offered to all of its 7,000 direct employees after coronavirus wiped out its passenger traffic.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said the government’s roadmap “sets out our ambition to reopen open pubs, bars and cafes as soon as possible; but the date in the roadmap is from 4 July, subject to advice at the time.”
However, ministers have been examining changes to regulations, such as those governing which businesses can put chairs and tables out on pavements. Relaxing these rules could make it easier for more outlets to provide the takeaway services permitted throughout the lockdown.
Proposals to allow beer gardens to open from 22 June were first reported on Sunday night in the Financial Times, which cited three Whitehall officials.
But the Guardian understands that the pubs industry was not told of any such plan and has since informed the government that most pubs would not be ready within a fortnight anyway due to the length of time it takes to brew beer to supply the pubs, as well as the complexity of bringing staff back to work, arranging deep cleans and getting rid of out-of-date beer.
Beer that has gone off has to be thrown away but this often involves discussions with local water boards, while the process has to be recorded to verify the amount being disposed of, so that pubs can claim the right amount of beer duty back from brewers.
The decision on reopening pubs is further complicated by rules on social distancing.
No 10 is understood to have told senior figures in the hospitality industry that cutting social distancing requirements from 2 metres to 1m would be discussed at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, amid concern about job losses in the hospitality industry.
Trade bodies such as UK Hospitality and the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA) have submitted estimates showing escalating numbers of closures and job losses based on social distancing at 1m, 1.5m and 2m.
If the required distance is not reduced, so-called “wet-led” pubs, which rely more on the sale of alcohol than food, are likely to be particularly hard hit, because they rely on packing in drinkers in large numbers.
The BBPA has also voiced concern at the prospect that pubs could lose access to the furlough scheme and grant support if they are technically allowed to open, even though the reality of social distancing rules means many cannot.
The trade body wants the government to provide financial backing to any pubs that are rendered unviable as a result.
If ministers agree to provide that support, maintaining social distancing at 2m would mean many more pubs, bars and restaurants would draw on the funding, increasing the cost to the Treasury.
