Premier Inn owner Whitbread to axe 1,500 jobs in hotel brand shake-up
30 April 2024, 13:30 | Updated: 30 April 2024, 13:41
Premier Inn owner Whitbread has revealed it is set to axe 1,500 jobs in a hotel brand shake-up.
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The group, which also owns restaurants such as Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, said the job cuts are still subject to consultation.
The move is part of fresh plans to "optimise" its food and drink offering, to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate and increase "operational efficiencies".
Whitbread said it plans to sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already having gone through.
It will also convert 112 restaurants into new hotel rooms.
Chief executive Dominic Paul said: "We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us."
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Mr Paul said the business's financial performance was "really excellent" and that the Premier Inn hotel brand was the "driving force" behind the results.
Addressing the job cuts, he said the decision was "really challenging".
"It's really important that we therefore handle that in the right way for our people," he said.
Mr Paul added: "We also have made sure that we balance our business overall. What we've announced today will increase our profits and returns, and that's also important for our people, because it enables us to continue to invest in our people within the business.
"We are a public company, so we also need to think about our shareholders. Our capital returns policy, of dividends and share buybacks, is within that context."
Whitbread's total food and beverage sales were up only 7 per cent for the year ending February 29, driven mainly by breakfasts in the restaurant chain.
As a result, the company said the cost-cutting programme will save about £150 million over the next three years.
