“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the resilience and professionalism of our employees, suppliers, clients, and customers, during this unprecedented time in all our lives,” he said, adding, “when we say, ‘frontline first’, we mean it.”
Aramark operates services contracts, including catering, in education (colleges and universities), healthcare, business and industry and providing critical support for the military, the NHS, HM Prison Service and many other frontline services across the UK and Ireland.
“Thousands of our people continue to support crisis response services and critical government infrastructure during the current pandemic; and their commitment to these services exemplifies the Aramark company promise of enriching the lives of those we work with. In support, our hundreds of ‘Work from Home’ teams ensure that the company does right by, and for, our people every step along the way.
“Since early January, we activated a special Aramark Response Committee, which includes representatives from our Supply Chain, Safety and Risk Control, Human Resources, Communications and Operations teams, which continues to meet daily to coordinate our strategic response.
“Since then, several tough decisions have been taken. Our business operations have been affected, some employees have unfortunately been furloughed, and our Northern Europe leadership have also committed to a temporary wage cut, as we collectively work to further support the business.
“This pandemic has fundamentally challenged the way people live, work, and engage within their communities. While the full impact is yet to be determined, early behavioural insights clearly suggest that it is certain to change business operations across the region for some time to come.
“I’m proud of the part that Northern Europe now plays within the Company’s global response efforts. As we plan ahead, Aramark Northern Europe team has joined a newly formed global Covid-19 steering committee on Aramark’s International Rebound Strategy.
“Using this unrivalled network of pandemic response experience, our business is uniquely placed to gather insights and develop innovations with our experience across China, South Korea, Japan, and through our extensive Central Europe operations – the latter of which now enter a critical phase of staggered re-opening.
“Right now, we continue to adhere to the measures outlined by the respective governments and regional authorities, but I can assure you that we are preparing to mobilise as business begins to return – whenever it may be. On behalf of all of our people, I can safely say that Aramark is ready for the next step.”