Greene King has revealed it will not re-open 79 sites as restrictions sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic continue.

The closures will mean up to 800 people losing their jobs. The redundancies represent a small fraction of Greene King’s 38,000-strong workforce but underline the concern of employers as the government’s furlough scheme nears its end.

AdvertisementGreene King’s venue closures include 11 Loch Fyne restaurants, while other pub groups including Young’s and Fullers are also in the process of cutting substantial numbers

In a recent statement, Nick Mackenzie, Greene King’s chief executive, said: “The industry is still dealing with the crippling aftereffects of the nationwide lockdown and the cumulative effect of the new restrictions, combined with the singling out of pubs, mean the measures announced by the chancellor don’t go far enough.”

A spokesperson for Greene King said: “The continued tightening of the trading restrictions for pubs, which may last another six months, along with the changes to government support was always going to make it a challenge to reopen some of our pubs.

“Around one-third will be closed permanently, and we hope to be able to reopen the others in the future. We are working hard with our teams to try and find them a role in another of our pubs wherever possible.

“We urgently need the government to step in and provide tailored support to help the sector get through to the spring and prevent further pub closures and job losses.”