Pub chain blames 10pm curfew as more than 2,000 furloughed staff to lose jobs
Pub chain Marston’s is making 2,150 furloughed workers redundant after the government announced new coronavirus restrictions.
The pub and brewery group blamed recent measures to tackle a surge in Covid-19 cases, including a 10pm curfew for hospitality venues and a three-tier lockdown system that means sites not serving food must close in high-risk areas.
The company, which recently merged with Heineken and employs 38,000 people across the UK, called for “urgent” help from the government to protect jobs in light of the new rules.
Announcing the job cuts yesterday, Marston’s said: “The introduction of these further restrictions and guidance affecting pubs is hugely disappointing in view of a lack of clear evidence tying pubs to the recent increase in infection levels, and our own data, which suggests that pubs are effective in minimising risks.”
The company said it will also launch a further cost-cutting plan by the end of the year. Eight of the group’s 21 pubs in Scotland are closed as well as further sites in Liverpool.
Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s, said: “The additional restrictions which have been applied across the UK most recently present significant challenges to us and will make business more difficult for a period of time.
“I very much regret that the consequence of this is that the jobs of around 2,150 of our colleagues will be impacted, but it is an inevitable consequence of the limitations placed upon our business.
“We will be looking at our cost base further in the coming weeks.”
The redundancy announcement came as Heineken-owned chain, Star Pubs, was fined £2m for allegedly forcing tenants to sell “unreasonable levels” of its own alcohol.
Investigators discovered that Star had continued to impose its own Heineken beers and ciders on pub managers when they asked to go free of their ties with the brewer, despite repeated interventions by regulators.