A coffee chain with several branches in Tayside and Fife has announced plans to make a tenth of staff redundant.
Costa said 1,650 staff are at risk of redundancy as it looks to cut costs amid continued uncertainty over when trade will fully recover following the pandemic.
It told staff on Thursday that it has started consultations just a week after rival Pret A Manger revealed it was axing 2,800 jobs.
Costa closed nearly all of its 2,700 UK stores for six weeks during the pandemic but has now reopened around 2,400 sites.
It said there are still “high levels of uncertainty” about when its sales will return to pre-coronavirus levels.
Neil Lake, managing director for Costa Coffee UK & Ireland, said: “Today’s announcement to our store teams was an extremely difficult decision to make.
“Our baristas are the heart of the Costa business and I am truly sorry that many now face uncertainty following today’s news.
“We have had to make these difficult decisions to protect the business and ensure we safeguard as many jobs as possible for our 16,000 team members, whilst emerging stronger ready for future growth.
“As a proud member of the UK high street, we remain committed to the role Costa plays in supporting the economic recovery of the country, but today I want to say a huge thank you to all of our team members that are affected by this announcement and we will be supporting you throughout this process.”
Costa employs 16,000 people across 1,600 wholly owned UK stores, plus there are 10,500 employees working across 1,100 franchise stores.
