Pret A Manger is cutting 2,800 jobs due to the economic downturn caused by coronavirus

Pret A Manger's sales are reportedly down to levels around what they were 10 years ago, because of COVID-19. It follows the announcement that 30 Pret shops across the UK will close permanently.

In a statement on Thursday, CEO Pano Christou said: "I'm gutted that we've had to lose so many colleagues. Although we're now starting to see a steady but slow recovery, the pandemic has taken away almost a decade of growth at Pret.We've managed to protect many jobs by making changes to the way we run our shops and the hours we ask team members to work."

The chain said the move would be continuously reviewed to reflect footfall and sales levels during the rest of 2020 and early 2021.

Mr Christou added: "I'm hopeful we'll be able to review all these changes now that trade is improving again, and I'm encouraged by the improvements we're seeing every week."