British Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn hotel brand and the Brewers Fayre restaurant chain, is planning to cut up to 6,000 jobs, according to a trading update.

The company says it hopes most people will accept voluntary layoffs after being hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic.

During the first half of the year (until August 27), sales fell by almost 80 percent. This is largely due to the fact that most facilities were forced to close during the corona pandemic.

Although August was somewhat of a recovery with a sales loss of 38.5 percent, the job cuts are needed to reflect forecasts of continued subdued demand, it says. The British government has recently announced new restrictions that specifically target Whitbread's areas of operation. 

Source:Finwire