The world's second-largest exhibitor shuttered all its U.K. and Ireland branches on Tuesday.
Three days after it made the unprecedented decision to close all its cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland, Cineworld – the U.K.'s largest exhibitor and the second-biggest cinema chain internationally – has begun laying off staff.
The redundancies are being made at both its Cineworld sites and those of its arthouse chain Picturehouse.
While the company wouldn't comment on the number of workers being laid off, in an article in The Telegraph a representative said, "We are not firing all staff."
In a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Cineworld said: “Like other businesses in the retail and leisure industry we are facing an incredibly challenging time as a consequence of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Following government guidance, we have taken the decision to close all our cinemas across the UK and Ireland to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees and customers."
It continued: "We value our employees and want to do everything we viably can to support them in these difficult and uncertain times. Our aim has been to preserve jobs and continue to pay as many staff as possible while they are not working."
Even before the closures, Cineworld – which owns Regal Cinemas in the U.S. is currently awaiting shareholder approval from its $2.3 billion acquisition of Canada's Cineplex – had warned that any extended shuttering of screens to contain the coronavirus could cast serious doubt on its ability to carry on operating. On Tuesday, its shares slumped to their lowest level ever.
