Pizza Hut is latest big name to put Northamptonshire jobs under threat after revealing closure plans

Pizza Hut is the latest big name to put its Northamptonshire restaurants under threat of closure.

The popular pizza and pasta chain which two diners in Northampton and one each in Wellingborough and Kettering yesterday revealed plans to shut more than ten per cent of its outlets nationwide.

Twenty nine of the chain's 244 sites are expected to close for good at a cost of around 450 jobs although the company is yet to confirm which sites will stay and which will go.

But Pizza Hut bosses say the restructuring plan as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) deal will help protect around 5,000 jobs across the surviving restaurants as “sales are not expected to fully bounce back until well into 2021” following “significant disruption” during the Covid-19 crisis.

A spokesman said: “We understand this is a difficult time for everyone involved but we are committed to doing the right thing and, in order to secure as many jobs as possible and continue serving our communities, we are working to reach an agreement with our creditors.

"While we are likely to see 29 Hut closures and 450 job losses, any measures we take aim to protect about 5,000 jobs at our remaining 215 restaurants, as well as the longevity of the business."

Pizza Hut was founded in the USA in 1958 and opened its first UK restaurant in 1973. The plans do not affect the brand's delivery-only outlets.

It is the latest in a series of hospitality chains to announce closures and job losses due to the pandemic.

Earlier this week Pizza Express sites at Derngate and Rushden Lakes were among those reprieved from a cull of 73 restaurants.

And Bella Italia staff were also spared when owners Casual Dining Group announced plans which involved closing 91 sites with the loss of 1,900 jobs in July.

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