Whitbread to cut 3,800 jobs as it overhauls Premier Inn restaurants

30 April 2026 , 13:03

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Whitbread to cut 3,800 jobs as it overhauls Premier Inn restaurants

The owner of Premier Inn is set to cut 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a five-year plan to save £250m and revamp its restaurants.

Whitbread, based in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, also stated it would change the way it serves food and reduce £1bn from its capital building programme.

Restaurants at 197 hotels will be replaced by an "integrated food and drink model," which the company claimed would be more efficient and was preferred by guests.

Chief executive Dominic Paul said increased costs in the form of business rates and national insurance required changes at the UK’s largest hotel chain.

"We’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximize value creation over the medium and long-term," he said.

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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."

Whitbread, which employs 30,000 people, said the plans were subject to a staff consultation, and it expected to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment.

The firm made 88 roles redundant last year when it moved a call center to Egypt and cut 1,500 jobs in 2024.

This follows the business reporting a pre-tax profit of £298m for the year to 26 February, which was 19% lower than the previous year.

Grace Cooper

Lifestyle & Culture Editor