Pub operator Marston’s will axe up to 2,150 jobs as pub operator blasts ‘hugely disappointing’ 10pm curfew and Tier 3 closures after suffering 30% drop in annual sales
- Marston’s hit out at the new lockdown measures as being ‘hugely disappointing’
- The pub operator has announced that it will be now axing up to 2,150 jobs
- All of the jobs affected are currently subject to furlough, Marston’s added
Pub operator Marston’s will axe up to 2,150 jobs as a result of the UK’s new round of coronavirus restrictions, it announced today.
The news came after it posted a 30 per cent drop in annual sales amid the pandemic.
The operator said around 2,150 of its pub workers currently on furlough support will be impacted, while it will also launch a further cost-cutting plan by the end of the year.
While a 10pm deadline on pubs, restaurants and other leisure businesses has been in place across the whole of England since last month, the government is now closing pubs and bars in ‘very high’ alert areas, with those in Liverpool told to shut this week.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, warned on Wednesday that the capital was also likely to move into tighter restrictions later this week.
Marston’s put the blame for the job cuts squarely on the new nationwide measures to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases.
Signage for a Pitcher & Piano bar, owned by Marston’s in London. The operator said around 2,150 of its pub workers currently on furlough support will be impacted, while it will also launch a further cost-cutting plan by the end of the year
Marston’s put the blame for the job cuts squarely on the new nationwide measures to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases
Marston’s said the new rules were ‘hugely disappointing’ and claimed that there was a lack of evidence linking pubs to the recent rise in coronavirus infections.
‘Inevitably, and regrettably, recent restrictions will impact jobs,’ the company said.
The pub and brewery group said it has 21 sites in Scotland, of which eight are currently closed, and 18 in the Tier 3 Liverpool region, although the majority of these serve food and are allowed to remain open.
Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s, said: ‘The additional restrictions which have been applied across the UK most recently present significant challenges to us and will make business more difficult for a period of time.
‘I very much regret that the consequence of this is that the jobs of around 2,150 of our colleagues will be impacted, but it is an inevitable consequence of the limitations placed upon our business.
‘We will be looking at our cost base further in the coming weeks.’
Marston’s, which had placed 13,000 of its 14,000 workers on furlough earlier in the year, said the new rules have undermined consumer confidence and caused uncertainty.
After ‘vital’ government support for its workforce over the summer, 10,000 staff had since returned to work.
‘However, because of the recent additional restrictions, we have reluctantly concluded that around 2,150 pub-based roles currently subject to furlough are going to be impacted,’ Marston’s added.
‘Furthermore, we have initiated a full review of overhead costs which will be concluded by the end of December.
Some pub owners, including the Beehive pub, have already warned that the fresh curbs will wipe out their businesses.