Hospitality boss warns 660,000 jobs lost before second lockdown pushed sector into ‘intensive care’
Around 660,000 hospitality jobs were lost this year before the second coronavirus lockdown was implemented, the industry trade body told MPs today
The pandemic had already wiped out 20 per cent of jobs in the sector, which was previously the third biggest employer in the country, by the end of September, UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls said.
Turnover across the industry was down 40 per cent, and it had fallen from an anticipated annual growth rate of five per cent to minus 40 per cent.
She warned that restrictions on the sector, including the tier system and subsequent England-wide lockdown, had pushed the industry from a “pretty precarious position” back to “intensive care”.
The latest tightening of restrictions, which have forced hospitality firms to close for the second time this year, come during the crucial Christmas trading period, when pubs and restaurants typically make 40 per cent of sales and 20 per cent of profits.
Nicholls told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee that the sector had faced tough restrictions since reopening, which had weakened its position upon entering the second lockdown this month.
“The key point is, our businesses never really came out of restrictions in July,” she said.
“We were allowed to reopen but we had significant controls, including social distancing and groups of six, which meant we never got above break even before we had a return to national restrictions in September.”
She addwd: “What it means is our businesses going into this second national lockdown are in a far less resilient place than they were in the first lockdown.”