Holiday Inn owner to cut 650 jobs as it plunges to loss

Chief executive sees ‘signs of improvement’ but warns crisis cannot be underestimated

About 650 jobs are being axed worldwide at Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner Intercontinental Hotels Group after it revealed half-year losses following a "substantial" hit from the coronavirus crisis.

The group confirmed it is cutting about 10 per cent of its corporate-level workforce across global operations, but did not provide a regional breakdown.

The cuts, which were announced internally in July, come after a raft of job loss announcements by rivals across the sector.

Details of the plans at Intercontinental Hotels Group came as results showed it slumping to a pretax loss of $275 million for the six months to June 30th compared with pretax profits of $375 million a year earlier.

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IHG chief executive Keith Barr said: "The impact of this crisis on our industry cannot be underestimated, but we are seeing some very early signs of improvement as restrictions ease and traveller confidence returns."

Global revenue per available room plunged 52 per cent in the first half – and by 75 per cent in the three months to the end of June.

Intercontinental – which employs about 40,000 staff around the world – said it would not pay out an interim shareholder dividend due to the limited visibility of the pace and scale of market recovery.

The group still had 317 hotels, or 5 per cent of its global estate, closed at the end of July.