Pizza Express to cut 1,300 jobs as trading slumps amid new lockdowns

Pizza Express has said it is cutting around 1,300 jobs across its UK restaurants after recent trading worsened in the face of tightened restrictions.

PizzaExpress managing director Zoe Bowley said the pandemic had had a “profound” impact on the restaurant industry.

"Unfortunately, the recent increase in Covid-19 cases is again causing footfall to decline across the UK. As this is expected to continue for some months, we sadly need to make changes that will impact more of our team members.

"Our people remain at the heart of our business and we are doing what we can to support those who are affected.

"We believe that this difficult decision will give us more resilience through the next six months and help us to continue serving our customers in our restaurants and at home in the years ahead."

Pizza Express, which is owned by Chinese group Hony Capital, announced 1,100 job cuts in August.