Cineworld is on course to cut tens of thousands of jobs after confirming plans to temporarily bring the curtain down on its UK and US cinemas because of continuing disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said its decision affected 45,000 workers, almost 6,000 of them in the UK, and Sky News understands they will lose their jobs this week in the hope they can be re-hired when the hibernation ends.

Cineworld announced the news 24 hours after receiving a backlash from employees over media reports that renewed delays to key releases.

Its announcement as shared in UK based media says, “Cineworld confirms that it will be temporarily suspending operations at all of its 536 Regal theatres in the US and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK from Thursday 8 October 2020.”

Cineworld's decision leaves staff at the mercy of a tough jobs market at a time when the government's furlough scheme - tapped by Cineworld during the lockdown that began in March - is coming to an end.

The firm, which had already announced that it was seeking new funding to help it ride out the pandemic, is understood to be planning an incentive scheme to get staff back at reopening - whenever that may be.

The company has 127 cinemas in the UK, including 26 Picturehouse venues, and 536 Regal cinemas in the US. It employed 37,000 people globally before the pandemic, with 5,500 in the UK.

Earlier, Cineworld had written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Minister Oliver Dowden to warn that the industry was becoming unviable. It also warned investors on Sept. 24 that it might need to raise more money if its sites were forced to shut again, after it swung to a $1.64 BN first-half loss. Its shares have fallen 82 percent this year.

Image credits: Daily Mirror