- Posted on: Friday August 7, 2020
French group Accor, the world’s sixth-largest hotel chain, said it was cutting 1,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major cost-cutting plan, accelerated by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, which runs high-end chains such as Raffles and Sofitel and budget brands like Ibis, plans to cut costs by 200 million euros by 2022, Agence France-Presse reported.
The pandemic has led to the closure of several Accor hotels around the world and 1,000 group employees will lose their jobs, said CFO Jean-Jacques Morin.
He said the company employs 18,000 people at the headquarters level.
Training to bounce back
Accor, which operates more than 5,000 hotels in 110 countries, has not yet been able to specify where the job cuts would be, added Morin.
Accor has around 320,000 employees in its network around the world.
“It is difficult to implement cost reduction measures in our industry without having an effect on staff », Declared Mr. Morin in a telephone interview. ” We will help them He said, referring to those who will be made redundant.
Travel industry news site Skift quoted Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin as saying that while one of his employees, whose salary was less than € 50,000, was affected by the position, he would still be paid and kept on Accor’s payroll for at least two years, and could also undergo training.
” There is no way we can leave disadvantaged people on the streets of the world today “, did he declare.
New hotels for a different clientele
Accor recorded half-yearly net losses of 1.5 billion euros against a profit of 141 million euros in the same period last year.
Turnover plunged to 917 million euros. That’s a 52.4% drop from the first half of last year, Skift reported.
” Poor half-year results reflect the extraordinary environment linked to the coronavirus crisis », Declared Mr. Morin.
For his part, Mr. Bazin said: “ The shock to our industry is both violent and unprecedented. The peak of the crisis is undoubtedly behind us, but the recovery will be gradual. “
Accor, in an update on its website, said 81% of its hotels have reopened and activity is gradually picking up. ” We have never stopped growing either, as we have continued to create new hotels over the past few months, adding 12,000 new rooms to our portfolio, bringing it to 5,100 hotels and 748,000 rooms. The group said.
” Our hotels are now ready to welcome a different clientele looking for leisure activities, domestic tourism and a lower level of business travel “, He added, stressing the strict hygiene and prevention measures put in place to ensure safety.
In a video Mr. Bazin said the company’s best strength is its human capital – the 320,000 people who work for Accor.
” They are not only good, but they are caring, they have the expertise and the sturdiness to accept the crisis “, he added.
