CURTAIN CALL
Cineworld confirms temporary closing of all 127 of its UK cinemas with 5,500 jobs at risk of being axed
CINEWORLD has confirmed plans to temporarily close all 127 of its UK cinemas from this Thursday following the coronavirus crisis.
The move will affect 5,500 employees, as well as thousands more roles through contractual work such as cleaning and security.
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The cinema chain will also shut 536 Regal theatres in the US, with the decision impacting 45,000 jobs across both countries.
Cineworld, which also owns Picturehouse cinemas in the UK, first confirmed it was considering temporarily shutting its UK and US branches in an update over the weekend.
The news sparked backlash from employees, who accused the cinema chain of revealing the proposals over social media before telling affected staff.
It's been reported that staff will be asked to accept redundancy, with hopes employees can be rehired once cinemas reopen.
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The government's furlough scheme is set to end on October 31 so furloughing staff to protect their jobs will no longer be an option after this date. The scheme also closed to new entrants in June.
A new Jobs Support Scheme will instead launch on November 1 but this only helps staff who are working fewer hours than usual due to the pandemic - not those who are temporarily out of a job.
The Cineworld closures come after the coronavirus outbreak caused several blockbuster movies to be pushed back, including the latest James Bond film No Time To Die.
No Time to Die — starring Daniel Craig and co-written by Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge — was hoped to match the success of the 2015 Bond movie Spectre, which made £80million at UK box offices.
But the delay until April 2021 - a year after its original April 2020 release - has plunged cinemas into crisis following the lack of big releases.
Other films, such as Top Gun 2 and Black Widow, have been postponed until next year.
Coronavirus: Which businesses have been affected?
HERE'S all the brands that have warned of job losses since the beginning of September:
- Burger King: the fast food giant is restructuring - which could cost up to 1,600 jobs
- Pizza Hut: confirmed job losses up up to 450 jobs after a plan to close 29 restaurants was approved by landlords
- H&M:-announced plans to shut 250 stores globally next year.
- TSB - 164 branches are at risk of closure - with 848 employees at risk
- Fuller's: Fuller's said more than 500 jobs could be lost as a result of the pandemic.
- Greggs: Workers to take hour cuts but bosses have warned job losses may follow
- Pizza Express: Confirmed 73 restaurants to close putting 1,100 jobs at risk
- Premier Inn: Owner Whitbread to cut 6,000 jobs due to coronavirus
- Wetherspoons: To cut up to 450 jobs from six pubs in airports
- Costa Coffee: announced plans to cut 1,650 jobs
- Cineworld: 5,500 jobs thought to be at risk as all UK and Ireland cinemas are set to shut temporarily
- City London Airport: Cutting 239 jobs in ‘crucial restructuring plan’
- Pret A Manger: 2,800 jobs at risk as 30 stores are earmarked for closure
- Marks and Spencer: confirmed plans to axe up to 7,000 workers over the next three months
- Virgin Atlantic: cuts another 1,150 jobs despite £1.2billion rescue plan approval.
The coronavirus pandemic has already seen Cineworld lose £1.3billion globally due to its cinemas shutting for four months, as well as reduced numbers of customers allowed in screenings.
Cineworld was forced to temporarily close all its cinemas on March 18 as the UK went into lockdown.
It has so far reopened 561 out of 778 sites worldwide - including 121 in the UK - as lockdown restrictions have been eased, with cinemas being allowed to reopen from July 4 in the UK.
Cineworld delayed its reopening until July 31 though in order to adjust to the schedule of upcoming movie releases.
The cinema chain has yet to confirm when it plans on reopening cinemas following this latest closure, or what the closures mean for its Unlimited membership card holders.
We've asked if customers are entitled to a refund, and how they can get their money back, and we'll update this article when we know more.
When cinemas shut earlier this year, Cineworld froze all membership accounts after being shut for one month.
Unlimited members pay £15.70 a month to watch as many films as they like, as well as getting discounts on food and drink.
The Sun is also checking what the move means for affected employees, including what will happen while cinemas are shut and once branches reopen.
Cineworld chief executive Mooky Greidinger said: "This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support safe and sustainable reopenings in all of our markets.
"We are especially grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theatres to the new protocols and cannot underscore enough how difficult this decision was.
"Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time, when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status and, in turn, studios are able to bring their pipeline of major releases back to the big screen."
Speaking today on Sky News, work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey insisted there has been "a lot of support" for companies.
Asked if the government will help Cineworld, she said: "One of the things Cineworld has cited is that cinemagoers want to be able to see new films coming through, as opposed to just seeing films of the past, and that's something which the whole industry can work together to deploy.
"Cineworld will have been supported throughout the year through the furlough scheme, through other ways the Government has been supporting businesses.
"Conscious that aspects of the main furlough scheme are coming to an end, but there is a successor scheme there."
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Cineworld isn't the only business to suffer following coronavirus - companies including Burger King, Pizza Hut and H&;M have all announced store closures putting 30,000 jobs at risk.
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There are fears of more mass job losses when the government's furlough scheme ends on October 31.
It comes after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted the UK economy will be the hardest hit among the world's developed countries due to the pandemic.
Boris Johnson tells Brits to go to the cinema and support those businesses as Cineworld confirms closures due to coronavirus
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