Retail job cuts inevitable with SME hiring already halved in last year

The UK’s biggest retailers have warned that job losses is “inevitable” and customers will be paying far higher prices as they will take a £7 billion hit from the Autumn Budget’s tax increases.

The British Retail Consortium who arranged the letter was signed by the likes of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Amazon, Boots, B&Q, Greggs, JD Sports, Next, Primark, Mark & Spencer and Currys.

The Government’s NIC changes couldn’t come at a worse time for retailers. Our SmartMatch employment data is already showing concerning trends in business confidence, with full-time employment growth at SMEs having halved in the last 12 months.

Adding billions in new payroll costs to a sector operating on razor-thin 3-5% margins isn’t just short-sighted – it’s potentially devastating for entry-level jobs, which are the lifeblood of retail. While the Government talks about ‘difficult choices,’ they’re effectively forcing retailers to make even harder ones: between raising prices during a cost-of-living crisis or cutting the very jobs that often give young people their first step into the workforce.