Pizza Hut exits Greece, hit by the pandemic

The Pizza Hut restaurant chain announced on Thursday it was shutting down its operations in Greece and leaving the country, saying that the chain's activities were no longer sustainable in the wake of the pandemic.

The company will shut down all 16 of its restaurants as of Thursday, leaving 180 employees jobless.

"The company made great efforts in previous years to return the stores to positive operation and growth rates,” a company source told state-run news agency ANA-MPA.

“Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic, which created an unprecedented crisis for our country and worldwide, has placed a heavy toll on the restaurant sector and led to a worsening of existing difficulties and an inability to turn the bad climate around,” it said.

Pizza Hut incurred significant losses as a result of the lockdown, which multiplied the existing difficult challenges and making its operation unsustainable, the same source added, noting that this was not limited to Greece.