Costa Coffee and Virgin Atlantic have been badly affected by the coronavirus crisis, lay-offs are inevitable

The coffee shop chain Costa Coffee has announced that due to the efforts to cope with the slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, almost 2000 of its employees might be laid off. This number represents approximately ten percent of its workforce.

Costa Coffee possesses 1600 outlets in the UK. It has the workforce od 16 000 employees. The company is planning to abolish the post of the assistant manager.

The outlets of the company are located mainly in city centres. The business has dramatically decreased due to the fact that many of the employees are still working from home. With the aid of reducing VAT, trade is returning. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about when the business will reach the level of the pre-covid period. 

Pret a Manger, a chain selling coffee and sandwiches, is to cut almost 3000 jobs owing to a restructuring. The operator of PizzaExpress restaurants has decided to lay off over 1000 employees.

The chain Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by the Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa. Its branches are to be found in 31 countries all over the world nowadays. This chain was acquired by the Coca Cola Company in 2018.

Virgin Atlantic crisis

The British airline Virgin Atlantic is going to cut over 1000 jobs due to a low demand for air travel. If the last wave of lay-offs is confirmed, the amount of Virgin Atlantic's  workforce will decrease by 50 percent. 

The financial aid of 1,2 billion pounds was approved by a court in London and in USA. The aim of this plan is to ensure that the company stays in business throughout the crisis. It was estimated that the company would be without any funds by the end of September without the financial support. The recapitalization was approved by all the company's creditors.

The airline found by Richard Branson focuses on long-distance flights, mainly those between the UK and US. Its flights were cancelled from April to July due to the pandemic. Its main office at Gatwick Airport in London has been closed and over 3500 have been laid off.