Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as French GDP accelerates, and HSBC announces CEO’s retirementHotel firm Whitbread, which operates in the UK and Germany, is axing 1,500 jobs in a cost-cutting plan…. and boosting returns to shareholders.Whitbread has today announced a new efficiency programme which will deliver £150m of cost savings over the next three years.The plan we are announcing today will result in the reduction of around 1,500 roles out of a total UK workforce of 37,000.While these plans are still subject to consultation, we will seek to find alternative opportunities wherever possible through the roles created by this plan and our existing recruitment process that makes c.15,000 hires each year. Continue reading...