Costa places 1,650 roles at risk

Costa has announced that 1,650 roles are at risk of redundancy following a newly-launched bid to restructure the group as it attempts to weather the impact of Covid-19.

The coffee chain said the ongoing impact of Covid-19 has required the business to “make difficult decisions to ensure that as many jobs as possible are protected long-term”.

The company said it will work to find affected employees alternative roles within the business “where possible”.

In addition, it pledged support to help affected employees transition to new places of work. It added that a “number of options” were reviewed before the decision was made to move forward with the consultation.

Neil Lake, managing director for Costa Coffee UK and Ireland said: “Today’s announcement to our store teams was an extremely difficult decision to make. Our baristas are the heart of the Costa business and I am truly sorry that many now face uncertainty following today’s news.

“We have had to make these difficult decisions to protect the business and ensure we safeguard as many jobs as possible for our 16,000 team members, whilst emerging stronger ready for future growth.”

He added: “As a proud member of the UK high street, we remain committed to the role Costa plays in supporting the economic recovery of the country, but today I want to say a huge thank you to all of our team members that are affected by this announcement and we will be supporting you throughout this process.”