Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin to bring back ‘all’ furloughed staff

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The chain confirmed that its supplies of Carling and Coors were affected by the disruption, with some pubs not receiving deliveries. Molson Coors, the brewer for the brands, blamed an “HGV driver shortage”. Driver and factory staff shortages, attributed to Brexit employment rules and the pandemic, have also impacted supplies at McDonald’s, Nando’s and KFC in recent weeks.

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. We know that the brewers are trying to resolve the issue.”

A spokesman for Molson Coors Beverage Company said: “It’s heartbreaking to be letting any customer down and we will continue to do everything in our power to get our much-loved brands back on every Wetherspoons bar.”

In a further statement, Mr Gershon said stocks of Carling and Coors were depleted as customers had stocked up when the threat of a strike by draymen at Heineken distributor GX Logistics impacted deliveries – although the industrial action was called off last month.

He added: “As of today, the majority of pubs, we believe, are now fully stocked, but some pubs may be short of a few brands, pending deliveries in the next few days.”

Bosses at the Road Haulage Association warned last week that there was a shortfall of around 100,000 drivers, as thousands of Europeans left during the pandemic and have not returned.

They have called on the Government to add drivers to its Shortage Occupation List to make it easier for overseas workers to address the shortfall.

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin – a vocal supporter of Brexit – has called for a more “liberal” visa scheme for EU workers but denied his pubs had been hit by Brexit-related staff shortages.

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