Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, has announced plans to cut 3,800 jobs as part of a five-year strategic reset to reduce costs and overhaul its restaurants. The proposal is still subject to employee consultation.
Restaurant Conversions
As part of the changes, 197 of its restaurants will be converted to an integrated food and drink model, according to reports from The Sun. Alternative opportunities for employees will be considered where possible.
Dominic Paul, chief executive, said: “We plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms.”
Other Industry News
The announcement comes after a Mediterranean restaurant chain could shut half its UK locations in a race to strike a rescue deal. The owner of French brasserie chain Côte is in talks to salvage a number of The Real Greek restaurants. Sky News has reported that the Karali Group are in the advanced stage of talks with The Real Greek owners, Fulham Shore, about taking on a portion of their restaurants. Karali is reportedly only planning on acquiring between 10 to 15 of the popular Greek food spots, meaning the chain would still see the closure of around half of its 28 restaurants.
Community Impact
The job cuts and restaurant conversions are expected to have a significant impact on the local communities where Whitbread operates. The company has stated that it will consider alternative opportunities for employees where possible, but the exact number of redundancies will depend on the outcome of the consultation process.
