Gordon Ramsay hits back at critics on Twitter after laying off 500 staff

Gordon Ramsay has hit back at his critics in a Twitter row with a restaurant reviewer, who criticised him for making staff redundant when his restaurants closed due to coronavirus.

A Daily Mail report this week revealed 500 staff employed in Ramsay’s restaurants are being laid off with a month’s pay.

Restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin criticised the move on Twitter, writing: “Yet again, a day when multi-millionaires won't put hands in pockets while the little guys doing everything they can for their staff. WHERE IS OUR LIST?”

On Friday morning, Ramsay came back swinging, writing: “You’ve clearly have never run a business, and yet across these very difficult times for all, you hide behind your pathetic tweets, get a grip will you !!!

"Cheap shots again and again from a bitter egotistical critic yawn!” [sic]

In another tweet, he wrote: “You complain about food for a living ! Closed restaurants with your poison pen because they didn’t kiss your a***, ever thought about giving back across these difficult times???? I’ve done nothing BUT put my hands in my pockets for years!”

Ramsay was featured in Forbes’ 2019 list of the highest-paid entertainers of the year, with a reported intake of US$63 million (£51.4m). He was the only chef on the Celebrity 100 list.

One of his chefs, 28-year-old Anca Torpuc, who worked at the Bread Street Kitchen branch as a chef de partie, expressed her disappointment on Facebook.

She wrote: “Such a shame to see how the company that you worked for and gave everything you had for 2 years throw you away like you are nothing but a little piece of s*** specially in difficult times like this even though they have absolutely nothing to lose by keeping you.

“And I'm not taking about one person here, over 500 people lost their jobs yesterday so all I can say is thank you @gordongram @gordonramsayrestaurants.

"I hope you sleep well at night knowing that so many people doesn't have a job in this difficult time because of you.”

Speaking to MailOnline, she added: “All of us have worked so hard for Gordon Ramsay and he has just got rid of us when we needed his support the most.

“Many of the staff were left in tears at the way he has treated us. There was no warning. We were summoned to a meeting and told our contracts were being terminated. It was so brutal.

“Staff from each of the restaurants were summoned to the Heddon Street restaurant where they were given the news. It was so awful and so many were in tears.”

Ramsay posted a message of support for his staff last week, as he announced the closure of his restaurants on Instagram, writing: “Huge love and thanks to our amazing staff across the restaurants for all their passion and support.”