Burger King warns of 1,600 job cuts with up to 10 per cent of branches to close
9 July 2020, 07:55
The boss of Burger King has warned that up to 1,600 UK jobs could be lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only about 370 of the restaurant chain's 530 UK stores have reopened since the nation went into lockdown.
Chief executive Alasdair Murdoch told the BBC that the economic damage stemming from the crisis could ultimately force the company to permanently close up to 10% of its stores.
He said "We don't want to lose any (jobs). We try very hard not to, but one's got to assume somewhere between 5% and 10% of the restaurants might not be able to survive.
READ MORE: Cost of coronavirus crisis rises to £190 billion
"It's not just us - I think this applies to everyone out there in our industry."
Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday unveiled a £30 billion support package to help boost the nation's economic recovery, which included plans to subsidise restaurant bills throughout August to encourage people to dine out.
However Mr Murdoch added that Government schemes do not do enough to compensate restaurants for the combination of fixed costs and lost sales throughout the pandemic, saying: "I don't think you can ever get over the top of this problem."
