Wetherspoons president Tim Martin warns bars and restaurants will face the problem of losing as many as 1 million jobs

WETHERSPOONS chief Tim Martin has warned bars and restaurants not to be eliminated – with as many as 1 million jobs on the line.

The hospitality industry could be left in ruins as stricter domestic measures are taken to combat the coronavirus and a second two-week national lockdown could be on the cards.

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Some 900,000 jobs in the hospitality industry are said to be at risk if another national lockdown is imposedCredit: PA: Press Association

Tim Martin said there would be more restrictions — Tim Martin said further restrictions would be “damaging” to the industryCredit: PA: Press Association / PA Images

Tim Martin, Chairman of JD Witherspoon, Which employs 43,000 people in its bars and hotels, said many smaller venues had already turned into the wall after the first shutdown.

He said that further restrictions would be “more destructive.” times Reports.

Kate Nichols, chief executive of lobby group at UK Hospitality, said about 900,000 workers in the industry are still on vacation, and their jobs are currently at risk as prime minister. Boris Johnson It is bringing restrictions in parts of the UK to fight the second wave of Covid-19.

Bar chains want Chancellor Rishi Sunak to continue the holiday scheme, which is due to expire at the end of October, as well as lowering beer fees and extending the VAT cut.

Johnson is currently looking into closing a “circuit break”, which effectively means the country will enter a two-week national lockdown, as the number of coronavirus cases has soared in recent days.

The number of new cases exceeded 4,000 on Friday.

‘destructive’

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said additional measures in the capital appeared “increasingly likely”.

Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King, which oversees 2,700 bars, restaurants and hotels, said the government needs to extend the leave scheme and provide additional support to protect jobs.

“The sector is fighting for survival – we are already seeing bars in areas where there are additional restrictions working less well, especially those in Scotland,” he said.

“New measures such as a curfew at 10 pm will do more damage and hit the bars in the city center even more, especially in London.”

While a recent Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave the industry a boost, Nichols said that places where local curfews were imposed suffered a 40-50 percent drop in trade.

Nichols said: “There are still 900,000 people currently taking full leave: That’s how much jobs are at risk, given that the leave ends in October and you will need to start repeating discussions in the next two weeks.

‘Fighting for survival’

We need an intense discussion with the government about the required measures.

There is no certainty that this will be the only closure. We need a plan to pass us through in the next six months. “

It also called for an extension of the business rate holiday and a reduction in value-added tax from 20 percent to 5 percent, which ends on January 12.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Society, has also called for a lower beer fee, which is about 54 pence on average.

“We will continue to operate in innovative and effective ways to support jobs as we recover from the crisis,” the Treasury Department said.

The economy slipped into recession in March and April due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the introduction of lockdowns, causing the economy to shrink by 20.4 percent.

But the figures for July saw GDP rise 6.6 percent.

Sanjay Raja, a British economist at Deutsche Bank, said any further restrictions could derail the recovery in GDP.

Tightening restrictions is economically important. Tighter social restrictions will affect the UK’s recovery. This is one of the reasons why we expect the recent increase in GDP to be short-lived. “