Gleneagles, Scotland's premier hotel, asks all employees to consider redundancy

Published on Thursday 29 January 2009 21:02

EVERY member of staff at Scotland's most famous five-star hotel has been asked to consider redundancy in response to the global economic downturn.

Gleneagles in Perthshire, which plays host to Hollywood stars and was the venue for world leaders attending the G8 summit in 2005, is offering staff of options, including voluntary severance, additional unpaid leave, reduced hours or early retirement.

In a letter headed "Application to change working lifestyle", Bernard Murphy, the hotel's general manager, said the move was necessary "to protect our current employees".

A spokesman for the hotel said the letters were sent out earlier this week and no decisions had yet been taken.

He said: "Like any other business in the current climate, we are exploring options and looking at ways to protect the business and our workforce."

The hotel employs 700-800 staff at peak times.

Yesterday was a black day for job losses in the UK, with thousands of cuts announced in the engineering, transport, legal and retail sectors.

In Scotland, engineering group Cookson confirmed plans to axe nearly 180 jobs at its plant at Newmilns in Ayrshire over the next 12 months.

The company said it was losing 1,250 jobs worldwide as part of a cost-cutting move that would reduce its global workforce by about 7 per cent. Its operations across Europe and the US will also be affected.

Willie Coffey, the Nationalist MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudon, who visited the plant earlier this week for crisis talks, said: "To their credit, the workforce is determined to work together to salvage what they can from this devastating blow."

Mr Coffey said he had asked enterprise agencies to work with the company and staff.

The DVD and games retailer Zavvi, which went into administration on Christmas Eve, said another 15 of the chain's stores, including two in Stirling and East Kilbride, were to close, leaving 295 staff out of work.

Standard Life in Edinburgh yesterday confirmed it was drawing up final redundancy packages for 37 marketing staff.

London Underground said it would axe 1,000 jobs this year, though no Tube drivers or front-line staff would be affected.

The electronics company Electrocomponents is making 340 posts redundant and releasing 90 temporary agency staff; the power giant E.ON announced 450 job losses; 127 jobs were lost at Serious Foods in south Wales after it was forced to call in administrators; and the law firm Linklaters announced plans to cut up to 270 jobs based in London.

Plymouth City Council is cutting 200 jobs and said 100 vacant posts would not be filled.

The Starbucks coffee chain is cutting 7,000 staff worldwide in a fresh round of closures. It is shutting 300 cafs, two-thirds in the United States.

And the drugs giant AstraZeneca says it is shedding 6,000 jobs worldwide.

&#149 The sandwich chain Subway is to open 600 new stores in the UK and Ireland, creating more than 7,000 jobs by the end of 2010.

Public concern over unemployment reaches a ten-year high

PUBLIC concern over job cuts is at a ten-year high as the recession continues to bite, bringing announcements of thousands of job losses almost every day, a poll released today shows.

Worry over the mounting jobs toll in the UK has soared 60 per cent in a month with almost a quarter of voters (24 per cent) saying unemployment was one of the most important issues facing the country – up nine points on December.

The latest Ipsos Mori survey of more than 1,000 adults shows that the economy is considered the single most important issue by more than half of all voters – up from 49 per cent last month to 52 per cent – with 70 per cent putting it among the most important issues.

It is the first time for nearly seven years – when it was the state of the NHS – that one issue has so dominated public concern.

Just over a third (34 per cent) are concerned about crime and law and order with 21 per cent putting race relations and immigration among their most serious concerns – both down slightly.

Another Ipsos Mori poll earlier this month found almost half of full-time workers (49 per cent) were now worried the recession would force them out of their jobs over the next year.