Whitbread to cut 1,500 jobs and sell 126 restaurants
The Guardian|May 01, 2024
The Premier Inn owner Whitbread is to cut 1,500 jobs in the UK and shut more than 100 struggling restaurants despite announcing a significant rise in returns to shareholders.
Julia Kollewe
Whitbread to cut 1,500 jobs and sell 126 restaurants

Whitbread, which runs 850 hotels in the UK and has the sector's biggest brand, Premier Inn, said it was starting a consultation on the cuts and that it would seek to find alternative jobs for those affected.

The move is part of a £150m three-year cost-cutting drive that will slim down its 37,000-member workforce. It has also begun a process to sell 126 restaurants.

The job cuts are in stark contrast to buoyant figures delivered to the City yesterday. The company's sales rose 13% to nearly £3bn in the year to 29 February, and adjusted profit before tax climbed 36% to £561m.

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