Eighty jobs are under threat at Travelodge after the company announced a major shake-up of its management structure.
As part of a broader £3m cost-cutting drive, the budget hotel chain has begun redundancy negotiations with all of its 80 cluster and area managers.
In a letter to employees, the company stated: "It remains necessary to look for further efficiencies throughout our business to ensure we deliver the next phase of our growth plan."
The cluster managers, who look after between one and four sites, and area managers, who oversee about 10 hotels each, will be replaced by a single layer of 19 UK district managers.
One Travelodge assistant manager said that despite "an air of uncertainty" at the group it could be a positive step. "There's always been too much hierarchy in the company. Every time I try to do things I have to go through the red tape and get overpowered."
A Travelodge spokesman denied that the move was to prepare the company for sale and said there would be no further redundancies.