Pandemic fuels 30,000 restaurant job losses

Almost 30,000 job losses were recorded by the UK’s restaurant and casual dining firms in 2020, according to data compiled by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

The research also found that redundancies in the industry spiked 163% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions.

The job losses of 29,684 is a sharp increase from the 11,280 jobs that were lost throughout 2019 in the sector.

Repeated tightening of restrictions has also caused a 76% rise in branch closures by hospitality firms, according to the report.

Major companies such as Pizza Express, The Restaurant Group, and Mitchells and Butlers have been highlighted for putting closure proposals and redundancy plans in place throughout the year. 

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director at CRR, spoke of the “crisis” that was already taking place in the sector “before the pandemic”.

He said, via the Guardian: “The sector experienced rapid growth in outlets during 2014 to 2017 as successful chains added additional branches, but they frequently paid too much, while maintaining quality standards proved difficult.”

“The need to cut costs caused by over-expansion, increased competition and weak consumer demand produced a crisis in the industry before the pandemic.”