More than 750,000 hospitality jobs under threat

More than 750,000 jobs will be lost when the furlough scheme ends in two weeks without additional government support, trade bodies have revealed.

Three-quarters of hospitality businesses (76%) said they were loss-making when responding to a survey by UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association, even before the government introduced its new three-tier system.

Predictions for business failures by the end of 2020 stood at one in four, with more than 50% expected to fail by the end of Q1 2021.

A joint spokesperson for the trade bodies said: "There can be no doubt of the devastating impact that the government's restrictions are having on hospitality and pub businesses across the UK.

"Without urgent sector-specific support for our industry, massive business failure is imminent and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost around Christmas from a sector that was in growth at the beginning of this year, as well as in the supply chain that supports them.

"While there are any restrictions placed on hospitality and pubs, there must be financial support in place across all tiers of risk."

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