UP TO 20 members of staff at a York hotel that recorded the first cases of coronavirus in the UK could be made redundant.

The York Staycity hotel, in Paragon Street, hit national headlines at the end of January when it was confirmed that two of its guests had become the first diagnosed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

Two members of the same family – a University of York student and a relative – staying there tested positive for the virus on January 31.

They had recently travelled to the UK from China and were staying at the Staycity apartment-hotel in York when they fell ill.

A member of staff, who does not want to be named, has now told The Press colleagues were called in to a meeting on Wednesday and were told the company was implementing a redundancy programme due to the problems caused by the lockdown.

In a letter to staff StayCity said: “As we informed everyone at the meeting, the company is in the regrettable position of having to consider implementing a redundancy programme because of the economic downturn and loss of business due to COVID-19.

“The company is set to make significant loses during 2021 and 2022 season. Therefore, the business cannot sustain the number of employees currently employed by Staycity.

“Although we have not yet finalised proposals, we anticipate that it may be necessary to make approximately 20 redundancies in Staycity Aparthotels York."

The Press contacted Staycity who said they would not be making a comment at this time.

The letter also added that as well as undertaking individual consultation meetings with affected employees, because the company is proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant within a period of 90 days or less,the company is to consult staff on a collective basis with ‘appropriate representatives’.

The company also laid off staff in March as part of group-wide cuts across the Dublin-based groups’ European estate in response to the early impact of coronavirus.

At the time Staycity chief executive Tom Walsh said in a statement: “It is with acute personal regret that these measures are necessary and that we are left with no choice but to temporarily lay off members of our valued team until bookings recover.

“We are confident that sharp and immediate business protection measures taken now will enable the company to bounce back when the coronavirus crisis passes and business returns to normal levels.”

The Staycity hotel first opened in 2016 and has been housing 30 homeless residents throughout the pandemic.

Dublin-based Staycity now operates some 1,400 apartments across eight European cities including York, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London Heathrow, and London.