SSP to cut more than half its UK workforce

The group, whose portfolio includes the Upper Crust and Caffe Ritazza brands, has unveiled plans to cut 5,000 jobs in a statement made this morning (1 July) by SSP Group chief executive Simon Smith.

According to the firm, which operates across more than 30 countries including the US, India and China, global sales in April and May were 95% below the previous year's.

SSP operates a total of 580 outlets across the UK, mostly located within railway stations and airports, but at present less than 10 are currently open, and the company says it expects only one-fifth of its UK stores to have reopened by the autumn.

Smith said: "Covid-19 continues to have an unprecedented impact on the travel industry and on SSP's businesses in all geographies.

"Reflecting this, over the last three months the company has taken rapid and decisive action to protect the business and to substantially strengthen the Group's financial position."

"We are beginning to see early signs of recovery in some parts of the world and are starting to open units as passenger demand picks up.

"However, in the UK the pace of the recovery continues to be slow. In response to this, we are now taking further action to protect the business and create the right base from which to rebuild our operations."