All Bar One, Toby Carvery and Harvester owner Mitchells & Butlers has confirmed around 1,300 jobs have been axed as it revealed the pandemic sent it plunging to a £123 million annual loss.
The pubs giant laid bare the extent of the recent redundancies as annual results showed the hefty annual losses for the year to September 26 from pre-tax profits of £177 million the previous year.
It said earlier this month that it was closing up to 20 of its pubs and restaurants and started redundancy consultations with staff, but did not at the time disclose how many roles were at risk.
All Bar One, Toby Carvery and Harvester owner Mitchells & Butlers has confirmed around 1,300 jobs have been axed as it revealed the pandemic sent it plunging to a £123 million annual loss
It said: ‘Despite our best efforts to protect as many jobs as we can, we have had to make circa 1,300 redundancies following the end of the financial period.
‘The reduced levels of activity and closure of a small number of our sites meant that we could no longer support these roles.’
Mitchells and the wider hospitality sector have been devastated by the pandemic and measures to control it, with a lengthy enforced closure earlier in the year and a 10pm curfew before the latest English lockdown.
Mitchells swung into the red after full-year revenues plunged 34 per cent to £1.5 billion and it said total sales since the end of September have plunged 50.8 per cent, due largely to the latest lockdown.
The group said the outlook was dependent on the Government’s restrictions to contain coronavirus.
‘The future will remain both challenging and highly uncertain with the duration and depth of the trading restrictions imposed on the hospitality sector in response to the Covid-19 pandemic being, in the first instance, the primary determinant of our financial performance,’ it said.
The pubs giant laid bare the extent of the recent redundancies as annual results showed the hefty annual losses for the year to September 26 from pre-tax profits of £177 million the previous year
The group said its suburban brands have fared well, even with the Covid-19 restrictions, with Miller & Carter and Premium Country Pubs leading the way.
But its city centre drinks-led pubs, such as Nicholson’s, have taken the brunt of the crisis, as trading woes have been compounded by many offices remaining empty.
Phil Urban, chief executive of Mitchells, said: ‘We remain optimistic that we will be able to regain the momentum previously built and continue to achieve sustained market outperformance when the current operating restrictions are eased.’
The announcement is just the latest in a jobs bloodbath which has hit the food and retail sectors since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
It said earlier this month that it was closing up to 20 of its pubs and restaurants and started redundancy consultations with staff, but did not at the time disclose how many roles were at risk
Last week, fashion change Peacocks and Jaeger fell into administration, putting more than 4,700 jobs and almost 500 shops at risk.
The retailers, which were both part of billionaire Philip Day’s EWM Group retail empire, confirmed they had appointed administrators from FRP Advisory.
The administrators said no redundancies or store closures have been confirmed yet.
Cardiff-based Peacocks operates 423 stores with 4,369 staff, while Jaeger, which was bought by Mr Day in May 2017, runs 76 stores and concessions and employs 347 staff.
Since March, more than 200,000 job losses have been announced by firms affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
How 219,000 job losses have been revealed by major UK firms since lockdown began, with thousands more at risk
Nearly 219,000 job losses have been announced by major British employers since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March as follows:
- November 26 – Mitchells & Butlers – 1,300 jobs
- November 19 – Peacocks and Jaeger – 4,700 jobs at risk
- November 13 – Greggs – 820
- November 5 – Sainsbury’s and Argos – 3,500
- November 4 – John Lewis – 1,500
- November 4 – Lloyds – 1,070
- October 29 – Pizza Express – 1,300
- October 7 – Greene King – 800
- October 6 – Virgin Money – 400
- October 6 – Vp – 150
- October 5 – Cineworld – 5,500 (many cuts likely to be temporary)
- September 30 – TSB – 900
- September 30 – Shell – 9,000 worldwide
- September 29 – Ferguson – 1,200
- September 22 – Wetherspoon – 400 to 450
- September 22 – Whitbread – 6,000
- September 18 – Investec – 210
- September 15 – Waitrose – 124
- September 14 – London City Airport – 239
- September 9 – Lloyds Bank – 865
- September 9 – Pizza Hut – 450
- September 4 – Virgin Atlantic – 1,150
- September 3 – Costa – 1,650
- August 27 – Pret a Manger – 2,800 (includes 1,000 announced on July 6)
- August 26 – Gatwick Airport – 600
- August 25 – Co-operative Bank – 350
- August 20 – Alexander Dennis – 650
- August 18 – Bombardier – 95
- August 18 – Marks & Spencer – 7,000
- August 14 – Yo! Sushi – 250
- August 14 – River Island – 350
- August 12 – NatWest – 550
- August 11 – InterContinental Hotels – 650 worldwide
- August 11 – Debenhams – 2,500
- August 7 – Evening Standard – 115
- August 6 – Travelex – 1,300
- August 6 – Wetherspoons – 110 to 130
- August 5 – M&Co – 380
- August 5 – Arsenal FC – 55
- August 5 – WH Smith – 1,500
- August 4 – Dixons Carphone – 800
- August 4 – Pizza Express – 1,100 at risk
- August 3 – Hays Travel – up to 878
- August 3 – DW Sports – 1,700 at risk
- July 31 – Byron – 651
- July 30 – Pendragon – 1,800
- July 29 – Waterstones – unknown number of head office roles
- July 28 – Selfridges – 450
- July 27 – Oak Furnitureland – 163 at risk
- July 23 – Dyson – 600 in UK, 300 overseas
- July 22 – Mears – fewer than 200
- July 20 – Marks & Spencer – 950 at risk
- July 17 – Azzurri Group (owns Zizzi and Ask Italian) – up to 1,200
- July 16 – Genting – 1,642 at risk
- July 16 – Burberry – 150 in UK, 350 overseas
- July 15 – Banks Mining – 250 at risk
- July 15 – Buzz Bingo – 573 at risk
- July 14 – Vertu – 345 July 14 – DFS – up to 200 at risk
- July 9 – General Electric – 369
- July 9 – Eurostar – unknown number
- July 9 – Boots – 4,000
- July 9 – John Lewis – 1,300 at risk
- July 9 – Burger King – 1,600 at risk
- July 7 – Reach (owns Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers) – 550
- July 6 – Pret a Manger – 1,000 at risk
- July 2 – Casual Dining Group (owns Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge) – 1,909
- July 1 – SSP (owns Upper Crust) – 5,000 at risk
- July 1 – Arcadia (owns TopShop) – 500
- July 1 – Harrods – 700
- July 1 – Virgin Money – 300
- June 30 – Airbus – 1,700
- June 30 – TM Lewin – 600
- June 30 – Smiths Group – ‘some job losses’
- June 25 – Royal Mail – 2,000
- June 24 – Jet2 – 102
- June 24 – Swissport – 4,556
- June 24 – Crest Nicholson – 130
- June 23 – Shoe Zone – unknown number of jobs in head office
- June 19 – Aer Lingus – 500
- June 17 – HSBC – unknown number of jobs in UK, 35,000 worldwide
- June 15 – Jaguar Land Rover – 1,100
- June 15 – Travis Perkins – 2,500
- June 12 – Le Pain Quotidien – 200
- June 11 – Heathrow – at least 500
- June 11 – Bombardier – 600
- June 11 – Johnson Matthey – 2,500
- June 11 – Centrica – 5,000
- June 10 – Quiz – 93
- June 10 – The Restaurant Group (owns Frankie and Benny’s) – 3,000
- June 10 – Monsoon Accessorise – 545
- June 10 – Everest Windows – 188
- June 8 – BP – 10,000 worldwide
- June 8 – Mulberry – 375
- June 5 – Victoria’s Secret – 800 at risk
- June 5 – Bentley – 1,000
- June 4 – Aston Martin – 500
- June 4 – Lookers – 1,500
- May 29 – Belfast International Airport – 45
- May 28 – Debenhams (in second announcement) – ‘hundreds’ of jobs
- May 28 – EasyJet – 4,500 worldwide
- May 26 – McLaren – 1,200
- May 22 – Carluccio’s – 1,000
- May 21 – Clarks – 900
- May 20 – Rolls-Royce – 9,000
- May 20 – Bovis Homes – unknown number
- May 19 – Ovo Energy – 2,600
- May 19 – Antler – 164
- May 15 – JCB – 950 at risk
- May 13 – Tui – 8,000 worldwide
- May 12 – Carnival UK (owns P&O Cruises and Cunard) – 450
- May 11 – P&O Ferries – 1,100 worldwide
- May 5 – Virgin Atlantic – 3,150
- May 1 – Ryanair – 3,000 worldwide
- April 30 – Oasis Warehouse – 1,800
- April 29 – WPP – unknown number
- April 28 – British Airways – 12,000
- April 23 – Safran Seats – 400
- April 23 – Meggitt – 1,800 worldwide
- April 21 – Cath Kidston – 900
- April 17 – Debenhams – 422
- March 31 – Laura Ashley – 268
- March 30 – BrightHouse – 2,400 at risk
- March 27 – Chiquito – 1,500 at risk
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