Thu 3rd Sep 2020 - Costa announces 1,650 staff at risk of redundancy as it streamlines UK in-store structure Costa announces 1,650 staff at risk of redundancy as it streamlines UK in-store structure: Costa Coffee, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has said 1,650 staff are at risk of redundancy as it looks to cut costs amid continued uncertainty over when trade will fully recover following the pandemic. The company said it has today (Thursday, 3 September) started consultations with staff, which could impact more than a tenth of roles. Costa closed almost all of its 2,700 UK stores for six weeks during the pandemic but had now reopened about 2,400 sites. The company said trade is “returning” after being boosted by the government’s VAT reduction on food and non-alcoholic drinks and the recent Eat Out To Help Out scheme. However, it said the proposed job cuts had been driven by “high levels of uncertainty as to when trade will recover to pre-covid levels”. The company stated: “Throughout the pandemic, Costa has taken decisive action to provide, where possible, financial support and to look after team members. While stores were closed, all team members were put on the furlough scheme helpfully provided by the government, with their salary topped up by Costa to 100% for 12 weeks. When reviewing roles within stores, a number of options were reviewed prior to making the difficult decision to launch today’s consultation. Costa has made significant investments in safely accelerating the reopening of stores, ensuring they are safe for customers and team members and made the difficult decision to freeze all pay increases within the support centre and cut all non-essential expenditure. Unfortunately, despite making these changes, Costa must take additional action, including announcing today’s consultation, which puts 1,650 roles at risk of redundancy. Costa will seek to find those at-risk alternative roles within the business where possible, and for those leaving the business, support will be provided to help with the transition to new employment.” 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 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, while emerging stronger ready for future growth. 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.”