Papa Johns Pizza to Close Down Restaurants in the UK

Papa John's International, Inc. is closing more than three dozen pizza restaurants in the United Kingdom. The closures will also result in job losses, but the company did not disclose how many workers are being terminated.

Reason for the Restaurant Shutdowns

According to Sky News, Papa Johns will cease operations of 43 stores out of its 450 regional branches. The pizza chain said these outlets were discovered to be not performing well and were categorized as no longer financially sound. This means it is impractical for the restaurants to continue their operations since money is not coming in.

Moreover, the company hopes the closures will help boost its profits and investments since losses and costs are reduced. Papa Johns UK managing director Chris Phylactou said the move will allow them to invest in "the right locations with the right partners." He added that they are "focused on driving shared profitable growth across our U.K. restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future."

Impacted Workers

BBC News reported that prior to the announcement of store discontinuations, Papa Johns had already revealed its "strategic closure" plans to save funds not only for investments but also for programs to improve profitability at its remaining stores in the U.K. Meanwhile, the restaurant will shut the underperforming locations by mid-May. As for the impacted staff, Phylactou said Papa Johns will support them and help them find new opportunities.

"Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process," he said. "Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available."

Finally, the Papa Johns locations going out of business are all in England and reaching other main areas such as Harrogate, North Yorkshire to St Helens, Merseyside, Billericay, Essex, Eastbourne, and East Sussex.

Photo by: Jordy Schaap/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)