Johnson ordered bars and restaurants to close earlier to keep people from spreading the disease after drinking. He also urged Britons to return to working from home, saying the new rules are likely to last for six months.

Shutting at 10 p.m. “looks set to cost us several million pounds per week on top of already reduced customer numbers in our pubs to maintain social distancing,” said Nick Mackenzie, chief executive officer of Greene King, one of the largest U.K. pub chains. The industry has already seen 135,000 job losses, he estimated.

Johnson’s government has been forced to reverse efforts to re-open the economy in the face of sharply rising infections, while attempting to minimize damage to the economy as the U.K. faces its deepest recession in more than a century.

The new measures are a “crushing blow” for the hospitality industry, which employs 4 million people in Britain, said the Confederation of British Industry’s director general, Carolyn Fairbairn. The CBI and other trade groups implored Finance Minister Rishi Sunak for more fiscal support, including tax relief and more funding for furloughs. The CBI also said testing needs to be ramped up to control the virus.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for more help for businesses in the capital, while warning that further restrictions may be needed for the city soon.

Tim Martin, chairman of J D Wetherspoon Plc, one of Britain’s biggest pub chains, said the measures were “counterproductive,” because customers would simply go to each others’ houses to continue drinking and socializing, where there is even less social distancing.

“Removing a key trading hour on top of fragile consumer confidence and the reduced capacity pubs already face will put thousands more pubs and jobs at risk,” said Emma McClarkin, head of the British Beer and Pubs Association.

Other businesses that rely on the so-called nighttime economy also sounded the alarm.

Johnson “may well have signaled the death knell for the casino industry by including them in the list of venues which will be forced to close their doors at 10 p.m.,” said Michael Dugher, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, which represents gambling establishments.

Casinos do as much as 70% of their trade after that hour and that the measures could cost them half of their workforce, or some 7,000 people, he said.