Greene King pub closures – Greene King has announced that it will reduce its workforce further, seeing 800 more people lose their jobs as the impact from Covid-19 restrictions on hospitality businesses strikes harder.
The pub group said that pubs will have to close, 79 pubs already shut will remain closed until further notice, with at least 30% to be shut permanently.
The announcement was made before the news of pubs being forced to close in Scotland came late this afternoon.
Greene King operates 125 managed pubs in Scotland, where earlier today Nicola Sturgeon imposed closure on all pubs and restaurants in central Scotland, and in all other parts of Scotland only being able to open to serve alcohol ‘outdoors’.
Nick Mackenzie, Greene King CEO, said: “Today’s shut-down of Scottish pubs is a devastating blow for the thousands of people who work in the industry.
“We understand that decisive action needs to be taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We have invested millions of pounds in ensuring that our pubs are safe and only had six Test and Protect requests from NHS Scotland in total across our 125 managed pubs since we reopened on 15 July, having served millions of customers. It is time to stop unfairly targeting pubs.
“The sector has already seen pub closures and job losses and a second shut-down will see more closures and lost jobs in every Scottish community. We welcome the acknowledgement that support is needed but are concerned that £40m won’t go far enough and urgently need to understand the detail and the speed this can be deployed.”
The magnitude of the problem for the hospitality industry is all too evidently getting worse by the day. Additional measures like the ones taken earlier today in Scotland will undoubtedly be the final nail in the coffin for far too many Scottish hospitality businesses.
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Hospitality & Catering News: Greene King pub closures – 7 October 2020 – Greene King pub closures
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