By Chris Matthews and Lettice Bromovsky
19:14 26 Mar 2024, updated 19:17 26 Mar 2024
Papa John’s staff have revealed they were left in tears after the pizza chain announced dozens of shops would be closed.
Staff said they had been left in the dark about their future – while one worker even said he wasn’t even told that his branch is shutting.
Pizza giant Papa Johns announced today that it will shut 43 ‘underperforming’ restaurants across Britain – nearly a tenth of its total stores.
The company has not confirmed how many staff will be impacted by closures, but said that all staff impacted by this decision have been informed.
Yet employees at the locations earmarked for the axe told MailOnline they were very worried about their future and the uncertainty that has come with the news of these potential closures.
At the East Dulwich branch in south London, manager Mike Kabuye said that he was only informed of the potential closure yesterday, and he is scared for himself and his staff going forwards.
The 38-year-old said: ‘We were shocked because this shop has always had a lot of people.
‘I am worried not only for myself but for my team members. My workers are scared, and they are coming to me crying.
‘One of them is in hospital and we are just so worried about what will happen if we lose our jobs.
‘There is nothing that I can do. I just keep telling them that we need to give it our all and hope that it’s not too late to change things.
‘I have no idea what is going to happen.’
Mr Kabuye says that the biggest reasons for the branch struggling is tough competition in the area, use of external drivers and inability to accept cash payments.
He added: ‘There used to be two people working but now I have to do everything by myself. We are definitely struggling, it is 1.30 and I have only made two pizzas today.
‘There is stiff competition since another pizza shop opened up next door, which is much cheaper. We have lost over 50 per cent of our customers to them.
‘We also have had issues with drivers because we started using external drivers and there have been cases of food getting lost. It also takes a lot longer and customers don’t want to wait for that.
‘I used to just hop on the bike myself to take people orders but now I am not allowed to I have to stay in the store.
‘This shop doesn’t accept cash which puts a lot of people off. I have had three customers come in today and walk out because we don’t take cash.’
Mike has worked at the shop for nearly a year after transferring from the Peckham branch, which is also set to close.
Usama Awze, 26, has been an employee at the shop in Peckham, south east London, for just two months.
He was shocked to hear that the branch was closing – and says that the staff have not been told anything about it.
He said: ‘I had absolutely no idea. I haven’t been told anything about that. This is the first that I am hearing of it.
‘Business is not too good during the week on workdays but weekends and evenings we are doing really well.
‘Today has been a really good day we have already sold 21 pizzas before 2pm.’
He says that if he loses his job then he will probably go back to working in security, which he did before getting this role.
Over at the branch in Wimbledon, south west London, staff say they were told yesterday that their store will be closing in May.
Kaben Gedyin, 23, who has worked at the store for two years, says that he is very worried about losing his job.
He said: ‘I am very worried because it is extremely hard to find a job at the moment. I live in London, so I really need the money.
‘This decision hurts everyone.
‘I don’t know what is happening but all of the shops in this area are closing.
‘I was very surprised when they told me because we are doing well, we get about 100 orders on weekends.’
Kaben also mentioned the external drivers as a cause of the store’s closure, but he says the biggest factor was the Coronavirus pandemic which caused sales to plummet.
He added: ‘I think that essentially it is down to them using outside drivers as they take around 20 minutes just to get here. We often have to refund customers because their food is lost or late.
‘We also have to compete with Dominos who have lots more options on their menu than we do. People want to try something new, and Papa John’s just do the same thing. It is very competitive.
‘The coronavirus pandemic affected us a lot. Before covid we got around £7,000 to £8,000 a week whereas now its down to a thousand.’
An anonymous worker, 24, who has worked at the Putney Papa Johns for two years says they also got the news yesterday morning via email.
He said: ‘I was very surprised; we are all going to have to try and find new jobs now. It is extremely difficult.
‘They haven’t dealt with it well. They say that they will provide us with support, but they won’t tell us what that will be. They aren’t going to give us another job.
‘We are doing really well; we are the second most popular in the area. I don’t know why they are closing it.
‘They think that this store is not making a good profit. We make £6,000-£7,000 a week but it is not enough for them maybe.’
Papa Johns had previously said it planned ‘strategic closures’ in order to free up money for investment and improving profitability at its remaining UK sites.
It has now identified 43 restaurants as ‘underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable’.
It is expected to begin closing the restaurants by mid-May following a consultation process.
The chain has 450 branches up and down the country, as well as others in service stations and holiday parks.
Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, said: ‘Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process.
‘Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available.
‘We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.’
Papa Johns said it plans to increase investment in research and technology, such as better utilising customer data, as part of its UK strategy.
It also said it will look at the development of new types of sites beyond traditional restaurants, such as expanding into holiday parks, and is set to ‘announce other large retail partners in the coming months’.
Mr Phylactou added: ‘While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.
‘We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future.
‘We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.’
Pappa Johns has been contacted for comment.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
