Wetherspoon to cut up to 450 jobs at six airport pubs

In a letter to 1,000 employees working at the six pubs, it warned of a possible 400 to 450 redundancies. The cuts would affect staff in Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

Wetherspoons chief executive John Hutson said: "The decision is mainly a result of a downturn in trade in these pubs, linked with the large reduction in passenger numbers using the airports.

"We should emphasise that no firm decisions have been made at this stage.

"Wetherspoons is proposing to collectively consult with employees through an employment representative committee, which will be established for this purpose."

The cuts are on top of already announced plans to axe 130 head office roles in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company will now start a consultation process with the affected employees.

A spokesperson told The Sun that the types of roles that are at risk "are still to be discussed".

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin warned over the weekend that many pubs and restaurants risk being closed down if the UK government implements further restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

Most recently, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would enforce a 10pm curfew on pubs after the number of Covid-19 cases rises once again.