The owner of Premier Inn is to cut 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a five-year plan to save £250m and overhaul its restaurants.

Whitbread, based in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, also said it would change the way its serves food and cut £1bn from its capital building programme.

Restaurants at 197 hotels would be replaced by an "integrated food and drink model", which the company said would be more efficient and was preferred by guests.

The Unite union, which represents hospitality workers, described the job losses as "counterproductive" and "cruel" and asked to be involved in any consultation.

Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: "Whitbread should concentrate on treating its workers and its customers decently to build sustainable profits."

Whitbread's chief executive, Dominic Paul, said increased costs in the form of business rates and national insurance meant changes were needed at the UK's biggest hotel chain.

"We've looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term," he said.

"This has been a rigorous process and we've approached all options with an open mind.

"Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy."

Whitbread, which employs 30,000 people, said the plans were subject to a staff consultation and it expected to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment.

The firm made 88 roles redundant last year when it moved a call centre to Egypt and cut 1,500 jobs in 2024.

It comes after the business reported a pre-tax profit of £298m for the year to 26 February, which was 19% lower than the year before.

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