Up to 6,000 jobs are being axed at Premier Inn owner Whitbread as the group warned the coronavirus crisis will continue to hammer demand.
The group said the cuts would impact 18% of the total workforce across its hotel and restaurant brands, which also includes the Beefeater pubs and Brewers Fayre chains.
It is hoping a “significant proportion” of the job cuts will be made through voluntary redundancy and lowered contracted hours for some staff.
Whitbread said the plans come as demand is set to remain subdued in the short to medium-term and with the Government’s furlough scheme coming to an end next month.
The job losses also come on top of cuts to reduce its head office workforce by up to a fifth.
Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread, said: “With demand for travel remaining subdued, we are now having to make some very difficult decisions, and it is with great regret that today we are announcing our intention to enter into a consultation process that could result in up to 6,000 redundancies in the UK, of which it is hoped that a significant proportion can be achieved voluntarily.”
Whitbread is also the company behind Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and a number of other restaurant and hotel brands.
Whitbread has more than 4,000 Premier Inn rooms across the UK alongside 160 Brewers Fayre restaurants, 165 Beefeaters, 10 Cookhouse & Pubs, six Bar + Blocks and 80 Table Tables.
