LONDON - Travel operator Tui has said it will cut 8,000 jobs globally in response to the coronavirus pandemic and reduce overall costs by 30%. It said it would have to cut costs due to the "greatest crisis" tourism had ever faced by cutting some roles and not recruiting for some planned roles, as well as selling off "non-profitable activities". The firm had to cancel holidays from March, but said it plans to reopen some hotels in Germany "in the coming days" and hoped the summer season would run for longer. It laid out a plan to offer more local holiday options and to introduce new social distancing and cleaning measures.

The company has made a €845.8m (£747m) loss in the first half of the year, compared to a €289.1m loss for the same period in 2019.

The travel company, which has already furloughed 11,000 UK workers and suspended almost all of its travel programmes, says its facing its "greatest crisis", although CEO Fritz Joussen expects it to emerge from it "stronger".