Restaurants in York, North and East Yorkshire are set to close under a major restructuring by a national hospitality chain.
Whitbread has announced plans to cut around 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a new five-year strategy to make £250 million in cost savings and overhaul its restaurants.
The hospitality group said it wanted to save money in light of cost pressures coming from business rates and national insurance contributions.
It is to close the remainder of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants, shutting nearly 200 locations.
There are two Brewers Fayre restaurants in York and North Yorkshire:
- The Carousel, Falconer Road, Scarborough
- Aire & Calder, Airmyn, Goole
And there’s one Beefeater restaurant in North Yorkshire:
- The Millfield, White Rose Close, York.
Whitbread said the plans to reduce its 30,000-strong workforce were subject to employee consultation, and that it expects to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment.
The company’s previous restructuring plan, launched in 2024, resulted in around 1,500 job cuts.
Chief executive Dominic Paul said: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.
“This has been a rigorous process and we’ve approached all options with an open mind.
“Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy.”
He added: “This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.
“We’re going to go further and faster to deliver a great experience for our guests and high-quality growth and returns for our shareholders.”
It comes after the business reported a pre-tax profit of £298 million for the year to February 26, which was 19% lower than the year before.
