Premier Inn owner Whitbread has confirmed it will cut around 1,500 jobs across the UK as it plans to replace its restaurants with more rooms.
The group, which owns restaurants including Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, said job cuts are still subject to consultation and come from its 37,000-strong UK workforce. It claimed the move was part of a plan to “optimise” its food and drink offering.
Getting rid of the restaurants would give the option to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate, and increase “operational efficiencies”. Whitbread said it plans to sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already completed.
It will also convert 112 restaurants into new hotels rooms. Premier Inn has three hotels alone in Newcastle city centre and a further 22 across the region, but it is not yet known how they will be affected.
Dominic Paul, Whitbread chief executive, said: “We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us.”
The cuts come after Whitbread posted a pre-tax profit of £452 million for the year ending February 29, a 21% increase on the previous year.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/premier-inn-cuts-1500-jobs-29083140