Leisure travel firm Tui has warned it may axe up to 8,000 jobs as it seeks to cut its costs by nearly one third.

The travel firm was forced to cancel most of its travel programme from March to June. Tui said it needed to reduce costs by 30 per cent to tackle the pandemic, which it described as “unquestionably the greatest crisis the industry and Tui has ever faced”. The firm lost £650m (€740) in the first three months of the year and was given a £1.6bn loan backed by the German government.

9 in 10 employees furloughed or receiving reduced pay

Travel restrictions are still in place around much of Europe and across the globe, leading to a slump in demand. To cut costs, Tui has either furloughed or cut the pay of 9 out of 10 of its 70,000 employees.

Tui will be reopening selected hotels in Germany in the coming days and has operations within other European destinations that are ready to welcome holidaymakers. The Foreign Office is still advising against all non-essential foreign travel in the UK and has given no indication of when the policy might change. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has indicated that it is unlikely that UK nationals will be able to undertake international holidays this summer.