Marston’s will axe up to 2,150 jobs as pub operator suffers 30% drop in annual sales due to Covid 

Pub operator Marston’s will axe up to 2,150 jobs as a result of the UK’s new round of coronavirus restrictions, it announced today.

The news came after it posted a 30 per cent drop in annual sales amid the pandemic.

While a 10pm deadline on pubs, restaurants and other leisure businesses has been in place across the whole of England since last month, the government is now closing pubs and bars in ‘very high’ alert areas, with those in Liverpool told to shut this week.

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, warned on Wednesday that the capital was also likely to move into tighter restrictions later this week.

Marston’s said the new rules were ‘hugely disappointing’ and claimed that there was a lack of evidence linking pubs to the recent rise in coronavirus infections.

‘Inevitably, and regrettably, recent restrictions will impact jobs,’ the company said.

The company said in a statement: ‘The initial effect of these new rules has been to undermine consumer confidence and create uncertainty. 

‘Restoring confidence will only happen when (the) UK government and the devolved administrations are able to remove these restrictive measures, which they state are intended to be short-term in nature.’

Marston’s, which had placed 13,000 of its 14,000 workers on furlough earlier in the year, said the new rules have undermined consumer confidence and caused uncertainty.  

After ‘vital’ government support for its workforce over the summer, 10,000 staff had since returned to work.

‘However, because of the recent additional restrictions, we have reluctantly concluded that around 2,150 pub-based roles currently subject to furlough are going to be impacted,’ Marston’s added.

‘Furthermore, we have initiated a full review of overhead costs which will be concluded by the end of December.

Some pub owners, including the Beehive pub, have already warned that the fresh curbs will wipe out their businesses.