Speciality bakery giant Aryzta has furloughed 30% of its staff and closed eight of its bakeries, in order to rein in costs and maximise cashflow across its business. Aryzta said it had also temporarily closed production lines within its bakeries that remained open, in order to match capacity with market demand.

The company also said its executive management team would take a 30% pay cut for the next three months, while the group’s wider leadership team would take a 15% cut.

Like many other businesses, Aryzta has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company supplies burger buns and bread to food service chains like McDonald’s and Subway, which remain closed due to the virus.

The owner of the famous Cuisine de France brand said its liquidity at the end of April stood at €385m. Aryzta said it had reached an agreement with its lenders to amend its banking covenants, to allow its net debt-to-earnings ratio rise as high as six times, which should provide some breathing space for the group.