Pub and hotel company Whitbread will cut 1,500 jobs as it restructures its business.
The company said it would close more than 200 branded restaurants, which include Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, and expand its hotel business.
Whitbread runs the Premier Inn hotel chain, and will close 112 of its restaurants to convert the space into new hotel rooms. It intends to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate.
It will also sell 126 of its less profitable restaurants, and 21 of these have already been sold, the company said.
Its total workforce in the UK is 37,000 employees, and the redundancies are subject to consultation.
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 company will aim to provide alternative opportunities for those staff affected, either in roles created by the restructure or existing recruitment needs.
The cost-cutting programme will save around £150 million over the next three years.
Paul added that the decision to make job cuts had been “really challenging”, and that it was important that “we handle that in the right way for our people”.
“What we’ve announced today will increase our profits and returns, and that’s also important for our people, because it enables us to continue to invest in our people within the business.”
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