Brown Thomas and Arnotts plan to lay off 150 workers - more than one in eight staff members - citing unsustainable losses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The tough trading conditions at Brown Thomas Arnotts reflects a wider lack of customers in urban centres deprived of tourists, business travellers and office workers. The trade from foreign tourists has evaporated. Footfall has dropped by as much as 50% in some areas and the cost base of many businesses is now way out of line with trading reality.