Yahoo News Greggs hints it may have to cut jobs when furlough scheme ends
Greggs is in talks with staff over cutting their hours "to minimise the risk of job losses" when the furlough scheme ends next month.
The bakery chain warned rising numbers of coronavirus could mean interruption to supplies of goods and more restrictions on customers.
Greggs said it wanted to ensure "employment costs reflect the estimated level of demand from November onwards".
It is consulting on jobs and said it plans to confirm the financial impact of its plans in November.
Greggs re-opened more stores with social distancing measures in September and has moved into online ordering via a partnership with JustEat. However, Greggs has been hit hard by lockdown restrictions and a substantial increase in the number of people working from home.
The Newcastle-based business said that sales picked up in September after a "challenging month" in August.
Most of the companies sites are relatively small, meaning that seating areas were forced to close and it could not take advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. High temperatures also served to reduce demand, Greggs said.
The company told investors on Tuesday: "The outlook for trading remains uncertain, with rising Covid-19 infection rates leading to increasing risks of supply chain interruption and further restrictions on customer activities out of the home.
"In these challenging conditions our teams continue to work hard and have proven our ability to operate with social distancing and adapt to new digital channels."
From 2 July, when Greggs reopened, to 26 September, sales came in at 71.2 per cent of their level in the same period a year ago. In the final four weeks, sales edged up to 76.1 per cent of 2019 levels.
Susannah Streeter, senior markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Greggs had very flaky sales during August as warm temperatures put customers off its hot pastries and it was unable to benefit from the Eat Out to Help out scheme as seats weren’t available in its outlets.
“September has seen its stores bringing home the bacon again though, as more people left home and popped in or picked up products using its click and collect service, which has been rolled out nationwide.”
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