Premier Inn owner Whitbread is facing protests at its annual general meeting over plans to cut 1,500 UK jobs.
The demonstration comes as the company on Tuesday reported a “strong performance” in the first quarter of the year, including a 1% increase in sales to £739m.
Unite organized the protest outside the Dunstable headquarters of the hospitality company, which also owns restaurant chains Brewers Fayre, Beefeater and Bar + Block, this afternoon.
Whitbread sparked outrage earlier this year when announced the loss of jobs on the same day it reported annual profits of £561m – a 36% increase.
Whitbread said the cuts are part of plans to build more hotel rooms and reduce its network of branded restaurants by more than 200.
In a trading update on Tuesday, the company said it was “confident” in its outlook for the year “supported by our strong commercial program and good progress on cost efficiency”.
However, Join – which Whitbread does not formally recognize – accused the company of failing to answer “basic questions” about the redundancy process and also claimed it did not adequately consult employees, some of whom live in accommodation attached to their workplaces.
The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Rarely is a company so brazen as to celebrate a jump in profits and dividends by announcing mass job cuts.
“But generating galloping profits while running roughshod over workers is business as usual for Whitbread… Unite will hold the company to account for its shameful race-to-the-bottom behavior and offer full support to our members affected by these cruel and unnecessary.”
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Speaking in a statement via Unite, an anonymous member of staff said: “I feel I can speak for some people when I say we are all scared of what is to come.
“There are people out there who are not only losing their jobs but also their homes and there is little or no support from headquarters.
“Now we’re counting down the weeks wondering what’s going to happen.”
A Whitbread spokesperson said it “does not accept these allegations”.
They added: “The consultation process is still ongoing and as part of this we are looking to find alternative opportunities where possible through the roles created by this program and our existing recruitment process which makes [around] 15,000 hires per year.
“We expect to retain a significant proportion of those who wish to remain with us and are providing dedicated support to our teams.”
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