Whitbread will cut about 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as it shuts all Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants. This marks a drastic shift towards becoming a pure hotel business.
The closures will affect roughly 12% of Whitbread’s 30,000-strong workforce. Officials have not confirmed the exact timeline for these closures.
Whitbread intends to convert some of the closed restaurants into hotel rooms. The company has been under pressure from an activist investor to rethink its business strategy.
This change is part of Whitbread’s new five-year plan, which aims to streamline operations. The Beefeater brand has been part of the UK dining landscape since 1974.
Whitbread reported flat revenues for the year ending February 26. The company plans to recycle £1.5 billion to fund future growth initiatives.
As part of this transition, the Unite union is seeking consultations with Whitbread regarding the proposed redundancies. They aim to support affected employees during this difficult period.
A spokesperson for Whitbread stated, “We expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected.” They also emphasized their commitment to supporting impacted staff.
The announcement has drawn criticism, with Unite union representative Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe saying, “It is disgraceful that Whitbread employees heard about the job cuts through the media.”
In total, 197 restaurants will close, with plans for an additional 600 Premier Inn rooms to be created. This move reflects a broader trend in the hospitality industry towards hotel-centric business models.
