Pizza Express To Cut 1,100 Jobs As Virus Impact Bites
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published August 04, 2020 | 05:51 PM
Restaurant chain Pizza Express said on Tuesday it could cut 1,100 jobs and close around 67 pizzerias in Britain as it grapples with the "unprecedented challenges" of coronavirus
London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Aug, 2020 ) :Restaurant chain Pizza Express said on Tuesday it could cut 1,100 jobs and close around 67 pizzerias in Britain as it grapples with the "unprecedented challenges" of coronavirus.
The chain, which has 600 restaurants globally including 449 in the UK, said it was putting itself up for sale as part of a restructuring plan to deal with the fallout from the pandemic.
The company, majority-owned by Chinese firm Hony Capital, said it plans to reduce the size of its British restaurant footprint by 15 percent to help protect around 9,000 jobs in the country.
"It is with a heavy heart that we expect to permanently close a proportion of our restaurants, losing valued team members in the process," said managing director Zoe Bowley.
Pizza Express is the latest UK casual dining chain to announce planned redundancies as the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on the British economy.
It closed all of its restaurants on March 23 after the government ordered the country into lockdown, before starting a phased reopening of sites last month as restrictions were eased.
Bowley said the lockdown had hit the hospitality industry "particularly hard" but the firm said customer demand had been "encouraging" at its 60 restaurants that initially reopened in early July.
The UK government on Monday launched a new "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme which gives restaurant-goers 50 percent off their food bill, up to a value of 10 Pounds ($13, 11 Euros) per diner, in a bid to support the hospitality sector.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
NFL will allow players to wear Guardian Cap helmets in games
3 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
3 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A result
3 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga results
3 hours ago -
US troops to leave Chad in second African state withdrawal
3 hours ago -
Plastics pollution may be solved without production cap: Canada minister
4 hours ago
-
Biden stalls on menthol cigarette ban fearing Black vote backlash
4 hours ago -
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
4 hours ago -
6,000 French police to welcome Olympic torch amid bonus boost
4 hours ago -
Taiwan hit by several quakes, strongest reaching 6.1-magnitude
4 hours ago -
'Ballistic' Bairstow stars as Punjab pull off record T20 chase
4 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
4 hours ago