SCA Expo 2021 Postponed
By Dan Shryock
Costa Coffee, a leading retail coffee chain in the United Kingdom, is eliminating more than 10% of its workforce as it reopens storefronts following a Covid-19 lockdown.
The company, owned by Coca-Cola, has reopened about 2,400 of its 2,700 shops across the UK that were shuttered for about six weeks. The remaining 300 stores should be operating again by October.
With the reopening, however, as many as 1,650 employees will not return, according to reports. During the lockdown, Costa Coffee paid full wages to all employees, but as stores reopen and begin to generate sales, the company has announced assistant store manager positions are being eliminated to reduce costs.
“While trade is returning, helped by the government’s VAT reduction, which Costa passed on to customers in full, and the recent [eat out to help out] scheme, there remain high levels of uncertainty as to when trade will recover to pre-Covid levels,” the company said in a statement.
“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,” added Neil Lake, managing director for Costa Coffee UK and Ireland.
Coca-Cola reported in July that tea and coffee sales dropped nearly 33% during March, April, and May. The loses were, in large part, caused by the temporary store closures of nearly all Costa Coffee shops in western Europe.