Gambling firm William Hill has confirmed plans to shut 700 betting shops, placing 4,500 jobs at risk.
The bookmaker had threatened such a move before a crackdown to cut stakes on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) was implemented on 1 April.
William Hill said in a statement: “Since then the company has seen a significant fall in gaming machine revenues, in line with the guidance given when the government’s decision was announced in May 2018.
It warned that a “large number of redundancies” was anticipated among the staff affected.
It said: “the group will look to apply voluntary redundancy and redeployment measures extensively and will be providing support to all colleagues throughout the process.
“Subject to the outcome of the consultation process, shop closures are likely to begin before the end of the year.”
Source : Sky News : http://news.sky.com/story/william-hill-to-shut-700-shops-placing-4500-jobs-at-risk-11756484