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PUBLISHED: 16:16 11 August 2020
Debenhams has become the latest high street chain to announce big job losses Picture: JUDY RIMMER
Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK have lost their jobs or are about to – including many in Suffolk and Essex – as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic begins to be felt.
Across the country, around 730k UK workers have been removed from the payrolls, according to official figures.
Struggling department store group Debenhams became the latest high street business to announce deep cuts, with a decision on Tuesday, August 11, to slash 2,500 workers as it strives to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
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There are well-founded fears that figure will rise inexorably as the government’s furlough scheme becomes more costly to employers and then is phased out over the coming months.
According to new data from the Office for National Statistics, employment rates continued to decline in the last month with a further 81,000 jobs disappearing from payrolls across the country.
But although the number of employed people now stands at just under 28.3m, a lag means that this is not reflected in the jobless rate – because many who have lost their posts are not yet recorded as job seekers.
But ONS figures do show a sharp rise in the claimant count since March, with the level increasing by 116.8% across the UK by July to reach 2.7m. Meanwhile, wages have fallen by 2% in real terms, it said.
Across the East of England, latest ONS local labour force estimates – which cover the period from April to June 2020 – suggest 122,000 in the region are out of work and claiming.
The reasons the official unemployment rate – at 3.9% – is not rising is because workers need to be actively looking for a new job, the ONS said, but not being counted among “jobseekers” doesn’t mean they don’t want one, said ONS statistician Jonathan Athow.
“Figures from our main survey show there has been a rise in people without a job and not looking for one, though wanting to work,” he said.
“In addition, there are still a large number of people who say they are working no hours and getting zero pay.”
But figures do show that between May and June employment dropped by the largest amount in a quarter since 2009, with over-65s, the self-employed and part-time workers especially badly hit, and the hours employees are working dropping to record lows.
Here is a list of major British employers which have announced major job cuts since the start of the lockdown on March 23:
Total: 167,548
August 7 – Evening Standard – 115
August 6 – Travelex – 1,300
August 6 – Wetherspoons – 110 to 130
August 5 – M&Co – 380
August 5 – Arsenal FC – 55
August 5 – WH Smith – 1,500
August 4 – Dixons Carphone – 800
August 4 – Pizza Express – 1,100 at risk
August 3 – Hays Travel – up to 878
August 3 – DW Sports – 1,700 at risk
July 31 – Byron – 651
July 30 – Pendragon – 1,800
July 29 – Waterstones – unknown number of head office roles
July 28 – Selfridges – 450
July 27 – Oak Furnitureland – 163 at risk
July 23 – Dyson – 600 in UK, 300 overseas
July 22 – Mears – fewer than 200
July 20 – Marks & Spencer – 950 at risk
July 17 – Azzurri Group (owns Zizzi and Ask Italian) – up to 1,200
July 16 – Genting – 1,642 at risk
July 16 – Burberry – 150 in UK, 350 overseas
July 15 – Banks Mining – 250 at risk
July 15 – Buzz Bingo – 573 at risk
July 14 – Vertu – 345
July 14 – DFS – up to 200 at risk
July 9 – General Electric – 369
July 9 – Eurostar – unknown number
July 9 – Boots – 4,000
July 9 – John Lewis – 1,300 at risk
July 9 – Burger King – 1,600 at risk
July 7 – Reach (owns Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers) – 550
July 6 – Pret a Manger – 1,000 at risk
July 2 – Casual Dining Group (owns Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge) – 1,909
July 1 – SSP (owns Upper Crust) – 5,000 at risk
July 1 – Arcadia (owns TopShop) – 500
July 1 – Harrods – 700
July 1 – Virgin Money – 300
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June 30 – Airbus – 1,700
June 30 – TM Lewin – 600
June 30 – Smiths Group – “some job losses”
June 25 – Royal Mail – 2,000
June 24 – Jet2 – 102
June 24 – Swissport – 4,556
June 24 – Crest Nicholson – 130
June 23 – Shoe Zone – unknown number of jobs in head office
June 19 – Aer Lingus – 500
June 17 – HSBC – unknown number of jobs in UK, 35,000 worldwide
June 15 – Jaguar Land Rover – 1,100
June 15 – Travis Perkins – 2,500
June 12 – Le Pain Quotidien – 200
June 11 – Heathrow – at least 500
June 11 – Bombardier – 600
June 11 – Johnson Matthey – 2,500
June 11 – Centrica – 5,000
June 10 – Quiz – 93
June 10 – The Restaurant Group (owns Frankie and Benny’s) – 3,000
June 10 – Monsoon Accessorise – 545
June 10 – Everest Windows – 188
June 8 – BP – 10,000 worldwide
June 8 – Mulberry – 375
June 5 – Victoria’s Secret – 800 at risk
June 5 – Bentley – 1,000
June 4 – Aston Martin – 500
June 4 – Lookers – 1,500
May 29 – Belfast International Airport – 45
May 28 – Debenhams (in second announcement) – “hundreds” of jobs
May 28 – EasyJet – 4,500 worldwide
May 26 – McLaren – 1,200
May 22 – Carluccio’s – 1,000
May 21 – Clarks – 900
May 20 – Rolls-Royce – 9,000
May 20 – Bovis Homes – unknown number
May 19 – Ovo Energy – 2,600
May 19 – Antler – 164
May 15 – JCB – 950 at risk
May 13 – Tui – 8,000 worldwide
May 12 – Carnival UK (owns P&O Cruises and Cunard) – 450
May 11 – P&O Ferries – 1,100 worldwide
May 5 – Virgin Atlantic – 3,150
May 1 – Ryanair – 3,000 worldwide
April 30 – Oasis Warehouse – 1,800
April 29 – WPP – unknown number
April 28 – British Airways – 12,000
April 23 – Safran Seats – 400
April 23 – Meggitt – 1,800 worldwide
April 21 – Cath Kidston – 900
April 17 – Debenhams – 422
March 31 – Laura Ashley – 268
March 30 – BrightHouse – 2,400 at risk
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