Hotels and High Street to suffer more job losses
HOLIDAY Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group are expected to be the latest firms to warn of job losses this week as Britain reels from the fallout of coronavirus.
The companies will report financial results after months of being battered by lockdown restrictions. Both have warned of potential redundancies.
The UK has haemorrhaged more than 134,000 jobs since March, including thousands axed in the past week.
LGH Hotels Management was among the businesses warning of layoffs, with the company revealing 1,500 roles were at risk on Wednesday.
Hotels have been among the worst-hit businesses during the crisis. Industry group UKHospitality has warned that up to 20pc of jobs at the larger chains are at risk. Hilton intends to axe 2,100 jobs globally, while Premier Inn owner Whitbread will cut 250 jobs from its head office.
More than 1,000 jobs at edwardian Hotels group, which owns the May Fair in London, are also at risk, according to The Sunday Times. IHG is understood to have told staff at five Scottish hotels that at least 137 jobs are at risk. It also manages hotels in england and Wales.
IHG, which has seen shares plunge 25pc in 2020, is due to report its half- year results tomorrow. A spokesman said: ‘We have done everything to retain jobs. We are consulting our colleagues on plans to resize. This is likely to involve some redundancies.’
On Thursday, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group will also report results for the year to April.
It owns sportswear retailer Sports Direct and department store chain House of Fraser.
Frasers Group warned last month that more of its high street stores were at risk.
The results out on Thursday will only cover the initial impact of the pandemic.
Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘ Frasers Group has been very quiet. The results will be the first time we get an idea of what store closures have meant for the group’s financial statements.’
The pandemic is also hammering restaurants, the Centre for Cities warns today. Some 22,000 jobs in the sector have been shed this year and experts fear more losses. The centre’s Professor Joshua Bamfield said many restaurants were on ‘their knees’.