Whitbread was expected to make fewer job cuts than first planned.
In September the company announced a possible 6,000 job losses, with The Times reporting the figure could be halved.
The decision was thought to have been attributed to the extension of the UK government's furlough scheme and hopes for a vaccine.
The group said that the cuts, which equated to 18% of the total workforce, would “create a more flexible labour model that can adapt with changes in the demand environment going forward”. Whitbread said that it was also close to completing a process that would result in a reduction of its head office headcount by 15% to 20%.
Shares in the company fell by 3% on the news.