industry

Wetherspoon becomes latest high street name to cut jobs as 130 go at head office


Chief executive John Hutson said that all head office staff, including those who are regionally based, will be affected. Those in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will escape the cuts. “The decision is mainly a result of a downturn in trade in the pub and restaurant industry generally, a reduction in the company’s rate of expansion and a reduction in the number of pubs operated from 955 in 2015 to 873 today,” he said in a statement yesterday morning.

He said Wetherspoon would work with staff who want to take voluntary redundancy, early retirement, or reduce their working hours in order to reduce the number of people it has to fire.

“The company will listen to suggestions from staff to help avoid or reduce the number of compulsory redundancies which are required,” he said.

Bosses will also be open to unpaid absences such as sabbaticals and study leave, if staff want to take them.

“Wetherspoon is proposing to collectively consult with employees through an employment representative committee, which will be established for this purpose.”

Staff who work in the company’s 873 pubs will not be impacted by the cuts.

Mr Hutson added: “We should emphasise that no firm decisions have been made at this stage.”

The news follows a series of major job losses in recent weeks and months due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Already this week big names such as WHSmith, Dixons Carphone, Pizza Express, Hays Travel and DW Sports have said they will cut around 6,000 staff between them.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.