UNDER-PRESSURE sandwich shop Pret a Manger is to close its Worcester branch as part of a radical restructuring of the ailing company.
12 jobs will go because of the closure of the High Street branch, one of 30 to be be axed nationwide with the loss of at least 1,000 jobs.
Despite the chain reopening 339 of its 410 shops following the easing of lockdown restrictions last month, Worcester’s branch remained closed.
A Pret spokesperson said: “We have taken the difficult decision to not reopen our Worcester shop. We’re incredibly grateful to all our team members and will be doing what we can to help them find new job opportunities.
“Although we are working hard to adapt Pret to the new retail environment, the coronavirus pandemic has massively affected our industry and it is no longer financially viable for us to continue operations at this shop.”
Pret bosses said trading remains slow since the lifting of lockdown, with sales down 74 per cent from a year earlier. Pret is thought to be losing about £20million a month.
Chief executive Pano Christou said: “It’s a sad day for the whole Pret family, and I’m devastated we will be losing so many employees. But we must make these changes to adapt to the new retail environment.
“Our goal now is to bring Pret to more people, through different channels and in new ways, enabling us to grow once more in the medium term.”
