STAFF at a 4-star hotel in Peeblesshire have learned they are at risk of losing their jobs.

Macdonald Hotels Group, which runs the Cardrona, has announced plans to cut a total of 1,800 jobs across Scotland and England.

It comes days after Crieff Hydro Group declared redundancy talks would soon begin across its hotels, which include Peebles Hydro and the Park Hotel.

Our sister title The Herald reports that Macdonald deputy chairman Gordon Fraser said the furlough scheme has helped the company, but it has continued to face expensive costs.

Mr Fraser said: “We had really hoped to avoid this very unwelcome step, but with no realistic prospects of a return to anything like normal trading for the foreseeable future, we were simply left with no choice.

"Potentially, we are looking at around 1,800 roles at risk, in all areas and at all levels of the business.

“Even after cutting all non-essential spending and with senior management and our remaining staff accepting reduced salaries, the current situation is simply unsustainable.

“There is no realistic prospect of us returning to anything approaching normality for the foreseeable future and, whilst it's enormously regrettable, we simply must take these steps to ensure that we have a meaningful business when this situation ends, enabling us to bring back as many of our employees as possible.”