The pubs and brewing company Marston’s is to axe 2,150 jobs, the deepest cuts in the sector since the pandemic began, blaming government restrictions to curb the spike in Covid-19 cases.
Despite resilient trading during the summer, Marston’s said it was feeling the effects of the 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants, rules requiring full table service, and the recent introduction of the three-tier system of Covid restrictions that limit household mixing and mean pubs in some areas can remain open only if they serve “substantial” meals.
Pubs in tier 2 areas will not be eligible for state support, despite the likely fall in trade due to the ban on visits from people in more than one household.
Marston's - 2,150 jobs
15 October: Marston's - the brewer which owns nearly 1,400 pubs, restaurants, cocktail bars and hotels across the UK - said it would cut 2,150 jobs due to fresh Covid restrictions. The company has more than 14,000 employees.
Whitbread - 6,000 jobs
22 September: Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, said it would cut 6,000 jobs at its hotels and restaurants, almost one in five of its workforce
Pizza Express – 1,100 jobs
7 September: The restaurant chain confirms the closure of 73 restaurants as part of a rescue restructure deal.
Costa Coffee – 1,650 jobs
3 September: The company, which was bought by Coca-Cola two years ago, is cutting up to 1,650 jobs in its cafes, more than one in 10 of its workforce. The assistant store manager role will go across all shops.
Pret a Manger – 2,890 jobs
27 August: The majority of the cuts are focused on the sandwich chain's shop workers, but 90 roles will be lost in its support centre teams. The cuts include the 1,000 job losses announced on 6 July.
Marks & Spencer – 7,000 jobs
18 August: Food, clothing and homewares retailer cuts jobs in central support centre, regional management and stores.
M&Co – 400 jobs
5 August: M&Co, the Renfrewshire-based clothing retailer, formerly known as Mackays, will close 47 of 215 stores.
WH Smith – 1,500 jobs
5 August: The chain, which sells products ranging from sandwiches to stationery, will cut jobs mainly in UK railway stations and airports.
Dixons Carphone – 800 jobs
4 August: Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone is cutting 800 managers in its stores as it continues to reduce costs.
DW Sports – 1,700 jobs at risk
3 August: DW Sports fell into administration, closing its retail website immediately and risking the closure of its 150 gyms and shops.
Marks & Spencer – 950 jobs
20 July: The high street stalwart cuts management jobs in stores as well as head office roles related to property and store operations.
Ted Baker – 500 jobs
19 July: About 200 roles to go at the fashion retailer’s London headquarters, the Ugly Brown Building, and the remainder at stores.
Azzurri – 1,200 jobs
17 July: The owner of the Ask Italian and Zizzi pizza chains closes 75 restaurants and makes its Pod lunch business delivery only
Burberry – 500 jobs worldwide
15 July: Total includes 150 posts in UK head offices as luxury brand tries to slash costs by £55m after a slump in sales during the pandemic.
Boots – 4,000 jobs
9 July: Boots is cutting 4,000 jobs – or 7% of its workforce – by closing 48 opticians outlets and reducing staff at its head office in Nottingham as well as some management and customer service roles in stores.
John Lewis – 1,300 jobs
9 July: John Lewis announced that it is planning to permanently close eight of its 50 stores, including full department stores in Birmingham and Watford, with the likely loss of 1,300 jobs.
Celtic Manor – 450 jobs
9 July: Bosses at the Celtic Collection in Newport, which staged golf's Ryder Cup in 2010 and the 2014 Nato Conference, said 450 of its 995 workers will lose their jobs.
Pret a Manger – 1,000 jobs
6 July: Pret a Manger is to permanently close 30 branches and could cut at least 1,000 jobs after suffering “significant operating losses” as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown
Casual Dining Group – 1,900 jobs
2 July: The owner of the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant chains collapsed into administration, with the immediate loss of 1,900 jobs. The company said multiple offers were on the table for parts of the business but buyers did not want to acquire all the existing sites and 91 of its 250 outlets would remain permanently closed.
Arcadia – 500 jobs
1 July: Arcadia, Sir Philip Green’s troubled fashion group – which owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis – said in July 500 head office jobs out of 2,500 would go in the coming weeks.
SSP Group – 5,000 jobs
1 July: The owner of Upper Crust and Caffè Ritazza is to axe 5,000 jobs, about half of its workforce, with cuts at its head office and across its UK operations after the pandemic stalled domestic and international travel.
Harrods – 700 jobs
1 July: The department store group is cutting one in seven of its 4,800 employees because of the “ongoing impacts” of the pandemic.
Harveys – 240 jobs
30 June: Administrators made 240 redundancies at the furniture chain Harveys, with more than 1,300 jobs at risk if a buyer cannot be found.
TM Lewin – 600 jobs
30 June: Shirtmaker TM Lewin closed all 66 of its outlets permanently, with the loss of about 600 jobs.
Monsoon Accessorize – 545 jobs
11 June: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by their founder, Peter Simon, in June, in a deal in which 35 stores closed permanently and 545 jobs were lost.
Mulberry – 470 jobs
8 June: The luxury fashion and accessories brand is to cut 25% of its global workforce and has started a consultation with the 470 staff at risk.
The Restaurant Group – 3,000 jobs
3 June: The owner of dining chains such as Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s has closed most branches of Chiquito and all 11 of its Food & Fuel pubs, with another 120 restaurants to close permanently. Total job losses could reach 3,000.
Clarks – 900 jobs
21 May: Clarks plans to cut 900 office jobs worldwide as it grapples with the growth of online shoe shopping as well as the pandemic.
Oasis and Warehouse – 1,800 jobs
30 April: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by the restructuring firm Hilco in April, with all of their stores permanently closed and 1,800 jobs lost.
Cath Kidston – 900 jobs
21 April: More than 900 jobs were cut immediately at the retro retail label Cath Kidston after the company said it was permanently closing all 60 of its UK stores.
Debenhams – 4,000 jobs
9 April: At least 4,000 jobs will be lost at Debenhams in its head office and closed stores after its collapse into administration in April, for the second time in a year.
Laura Ashley – 2,700 jobs
17 March: Laura Ashley collapsed into administration, with 2,700 job losses, and said rescue talks had been thwarted by the pandemic.
Marston’s, which owns 1,400 pubs, restaurants, cocktail bars and hotels in the UK, including the Pitcher & Piano chain, said: “Inevitably, and regrettably, recent restrictions will impact jobs. Since the start of the pandemic, our objectives have included protecting the health and livelihoods of our teams. Government support over the summer was vital, and around 10,000 colleagues have so far returned to work.
“However, because of the recent additional restrictions, we have reluctantly concluded that around 2,150 pub-based roles currently subject to furlough are going to be impacted.”
The British Beer and Pubs Association has previously warned that up to 300,000 jobs in the hospitality sector could be lost without further state support. The trade body said on Thursday that the new tiered system of restrictions would “decimate” an industry that has already been among those hardest hit by the pandemic.
Several of Marston’s peers have announced plans to cut jobs or close venues, including the city-centre bar chain Revolution, the pubs and brewing firm Greene King and All Bar One’s owner, Mitchells & Butlers.
Marston’s had coped better than some, with customer numbers remaining robust thanks to a high number of venues with outside space and limited city-centre venues in its estate.
But analysts pointed out that it is also highly indebted, leaving it exposed to the impact of Covid restrictions. Its retrenchment is the largest single hit to jobs in the sector since the pandemic began.
The trade union Unite, which has 580 members at Marston’s, mostly at its breweries in Wolverhampton and Burton-on-Trent, said the decision demonstrated the need for urgent government intervention.
“This grim news from Marston’s is another nail in the coffin of the struggling hospitality industry and today Unite renews its call for the government to produce a concrete and coherent package of measures to support the sector, which is now on life support,” said regional officer Rick Coyle.
“Thousands of jobs across the UK are depending on such a package being delivered urgently by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, otherwise the UK’s hospitality sector will become a wasteland.”
The pub group, which employs 14,000 people, said eight of its 21 pubs in Scotland were closed, and it had 18 pubs in the “high-risk” area around Liverpool, although most of its local sites serve meals and were able to remain open despite tougher rules that forced many pubs to shut from Wednesday evening.
Marston’s said total sales for the 12 months to October were 30% below last year at £821m. Total pub sales accounted for £515m, a 34% fall from a year earlier.
But sales were down just 10% in the 13 weeks since its estate reopened after the lockdown. That was partly due to good weather – enabling customers to sit outside – as well as the government’s “eat out to help out” scheme in August, plus a VAT cut on the sale of food and nonalcoholic drinks.
Asked about the breaking news that UK pub group Marston's is cutting 2,150 jobs, the minister says he knows the chain and he is "sorry about that".
— Theo Usherwood (@theousherwood) October 15, 2020
Speaking on LBC radio on Thursday morning, the business minister, Nadhim Zahawi, defended the government’s new tiered system as the “right thing to do”. When asked about the job losses at Marston’s, he said he was “sorry about that”.
Marston’s said it was now launching a full review of its costs, which will be completed by the end of December.
