DOZENS of staff at a Knutsford pub and a budget hotel are due to discover this week if they still have jobs.

The 30 staff work at The Swan at Bucklow Hill and the adjoining Premier Inn, which are owned by Whitbread and have been up for sale since last year.

A member of staff contacted the Guardian to say that all the staff had been told last week that the pub and hotel would not be reopening ‘because of the economic downturn’.

The staff member, who did not wish to be named, said staff were also told alternative jobs would be sought for them within the company, but if that was not possible they would be made redundant.

A spokesman for Premier Inn said today (Wednesday): "After carefully considering our options we are currently in discussions with the team in relation to the potential future of the site.

"We are extremely grateful for the continued support of the team during these discussions."

The staff member said: “We got called into a meeting at work on July 1, for everyone who works there, including the managers.

“We were told that due to the economic downturn they had decided they would not be reopening the hotel or restaurant.

“We were told we would find out within the next 17 days if we could get any transfers, but if not we would all be made redundant.

“Thirty people work there, and everyone was shellshocked by the news, because we were originally told when it was put up for sale that our jobs were safe and would just get transferred to another hotel, whereas now they’re saying we are at risk of redundancy.

“We have been closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, and are due to find out on July 7 whether we are being made redundant or have been found alternative employment.

“Most of the team have been here a good few years, with the shortest time being eight months and the longest 36 years.

“About 40 per cent of the staff are local, and we have had lots of calls from people in the local area asking when we are going to reopen.

“I contacted the Guardian because I thought it best that everyone knows it’s not reopening.

“I feel angry because we were promised that our jobs were safe – just moving to a different hotel.

“I thought we could close, but we recently received over £1,000 worth of PPE and were scheduled for screens being installed on reception.”

The Guardian contacted Whitbread to ask for a comment.