Whitbread to cut 6,000 jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic

On Tuesday, Whitbread (WTB.L) announced plans to cut 6,000 jobs at its hotels and restaurants due to the weak global travel demand amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Whitbread reported that its sales during the first half of its financial year were down by almost 80% due to the lockdown that forced the closure of its hotels and Brewers Fayre restaurants.

“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’s Chief Executive Officer Alison Brittain said in an interview.

The British multinational hotel and restaurant company stated that it had begun formal consultations on the job cuts which represent 18% of its total workforce.

It also added that Whitbread expected a significant proportion of the layoffs could be made voluntarily.