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Wetherspoon boss declares Telegraph article a 'false story'
StockMarketWire.com
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StockMarketWire.com - JD Wetherspoon have released a statement following an online article published on Telegraph newspaper yesterday, which 'misrepresents' the bars position on EU migration and staff shortages.
The Telegraph journalist contacted the Wetherspoon chairman, Tim Martin and requested comments regarding general reports of staff shortages in the hospitality industry.
Following the press query, Mr Martin personally made enquiries within the company and, in subsequent texts to the journalist, said "anecdotal feedback from...pubs since reopening [is that there are] lots of people applying generally."
Mr Martin concluded that it was "a reasonably good position for JDW in the country" and that "recruitment is more challenging in some seaside towns- but that's no different to what we experience in any year."
The evidence provided by Mr Martin was not reported by the journalist, who instead said that "British pubs and restaurants struggle to recruit staff in the post-pandemic labour market squeeze".
The article also mentioned that Mr Martin "urged Boris Johnson to introduce a visa scheme for EU workers". However, Wetherspoons stated that Mr Martin has had no contact with Mr Johnson since he became Prime Minister.
Tim Martin said: "I was trying to be helpful to the journalist by providing up-to-date anecdotal information on staffing, which clearly demonstrated a very positive situation for Wetherspoon."
"However, my comments were misreported. The false story, expressed in the headline "Wetherspoons boss calls for more EU migration as bars and restaurants tackle staff shortage" and expressed or implied elsewhere in the article, was that Wetherspoon was suffering staff shortages, which clearly isn't true, and that I had subsequently been moved to change my stance on immigration, which, as my evidence to parliament several *years ago clearly shows, isn't true either." At 2:31pm: (LON:JDW) Wetherspoon J.D. PLC share price was 0p at 1037p
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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