CINEWORLD is preparing to shut down its 128 movie theatres across the country in the coming weeks, putting up to 5,500 jobs at risk.

Staff at Britain’s biggest cinema chain say they first learned of the decision through a report in yesterday’s Sunday Times.

Cineworld bosses wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden this weekend to say that delays to blockbuster releases have rendered the industry unviable.

It came as the release of the latest James Bond film was further delayed from November to spring 2021.

Cineworld Action Group, which represents the chain’s workers and is supported by the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), said that staff had not been consulted on the closures.

It told the Morning Star: “It’s been a consistent thing since the start of lockdown that we’ve found things out via the newspapers, so it’s not really a surprise.

“But for it to be something as big as 5,000 jobs gone … is insulting to say the least.”

Cineworld issued an apology to staff yesterday afternoon over the leak and confirmed that closures were being considered.

But Cineworld Action Group said that no further information was given to staff to clarify the scale of the closures and potential job losses.

“It’s leaving people in this limbo of not knowing whether they have a job — whether or not they are going to be able to sustain themselves. This has been an issue for the whole of the pandemic,” its statement added. 

Bectu head Philippa Childs said: “If these reports are true then the first people Cineworld should be informing are their staff who will suffer as a result — not the Sunday newspapers.”

Ms Childs said that although cinemas had reopened in July with success, the delay of the Bond film and other major titles has “plunged cinema into crisis.”

Staff are hoping that the government will put forward an emergency deal to rescue their jobs. 

“Cineworld is always going to prioritise its profits over staff well-being, that has always been the case and always will be.

“So if we don’t see action from the government … it’s like the final nail in the coffin for the industry,” Cineworld Action Group said.