Pret to hire 3,000 staff after cutting same number in 2020

Pret A Manger is aiming to hire 3,000 staff by the end of 2022 after cutting the same number of jobs last year.

The coffee and sandwich chain said it hopes to double in size within five years as it recovers from the pandemic.

It plans to open 200 shops in the UK over the next two years, and expand into five markets overseas by the end of 2023.

Many of the new outlets will be in train stations, bus stations and motorway services.

The expansion proposals come as demand from commuters and office workers - a key market for the chain - has started to pick up again after plunging during the Covid lockdowns.

The impact of the first lockdown led to Pret cutting 3,000 jobs, which represented a third of its workforce. Most of the jobs axed were from its shops, but 90 roles were also lost at its support centre.

The chain posted a 58% fall in revenue to £299m in 2020, compared to £708m the year before.

Chief executive Pano Christou told the BBC the "most difficult period" over the last year was having to make people redundant.

"You have so many people's lives in your hands, and making those decisions was the most difficult thing I had to do in my entire career," he said.

"When you have to make a call on thousands of people's jobs, that is something you spend a lot of time thinking through. But it was about how we could ensure that the business would survive and come through Covid."

The business is now looking to turn that around, despite having to tackle ongoing supply chain and lorry driver shortages like many other businesses across the country.

As part of its recruitment drive, Pret said it has received a £100m investment from JAB and Pret founder Sinclair Beecham to accelerate the expansion.

"Last year we were in the eye of the storm during the height of the pandemic. Now we have the chance to build a bright new future for Pret," Mr Christou said.

"It's been an incredibly tough two years, but we have a big opportunity ahead."

Mr Christou said he was "definitely seeing our Pret stores getting busier" since coronavirus restrictions were lifted on 19 July.

The number of employees working across the Pret has grown 28% since the start of the year, with more than 6,000 employees in the UK. About 30% of those employed this year had worked for Pret previously.

"Clearly recruitment is a challenge at the moment, and we're putting everything behind ensuring that we are an employer of choice; that we pay well, that we've got the right benefits, and then we've got the right bonus available to attract new staff," Mr Christou said.

Last week Pret announced that it was increasing pay by at least 5% for its cafe workers, weeks after ditching paid breaks and attempting to slash bonuses.

The move means that starting pay for store workers will now rise to a minimum of £9.40 an hour, up from the legal minimum of £8.91, but all team members, including managers will get a raise.