PizzaExpress to cut 1,300 jobs in the UK

PizzaExpress will cut 1,300 jobs across its UK estate as Covid-19 continues to impact dine-in trading.

The casual dining group said footfall had fallen since September, following the success of the chancellor's Eat Out to Help Out campaign in August, with city centre sites particularly hard hit. Roles will be lost across PizzaExpress' 370 restaurants through a combination of voluntary and compulsory redundancies.

The announcement comes less than two months after the business shed 1,100 roles and closed 73 sites through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). No further site closures have been confirmed.

Managing director Zoe Bowley said: “Unfortunately, the recent increase in Covid-19 cases is again causing footfall to decline across the UK. As this is expected to continue for some months, we sadly need to make changes that will impact more of our team members. Our people remain at the heart of our business and we are doing what we can to support those who are affected. We believe that this difficult decision will give us more resilience through the next six months and help us to continue serving our customers in our restaurants and at home in the years ahead.”

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