// UK retailers have shed over 24,000 jobs this year
// The job losses came as a result of administrations in the first half of 2020
New research has found that UK retailers have axed over 24,000 jobs this year, with experts warning this may only be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Many of the jobs were lost due to retailers falling into administration in the first half of 2020 after the coronavirus lockdown triggered the collapse of some major businesses.
At least 24,348 jobs have already been lost across insolvent UK retailers, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) revealed.
READ MORE:
- Skyrocketing online sales fail to offset retailers’ high street woes
- Signs of improvement in consumer confidence as lockdown eases
It also revealed that 31,628 retail jobs are currently at risk of being scrapped, with many expected to shutter stores.
Experts said this represents almost 56,000 retail workers who have been impacted by retail administrations, which is already higher than the total of workers impacted by insolvencies in the sector for the whole of 2019.
Last year, a total of 2051 stores and 46,506 jobs were affected by major retail insolvencies.
Major retailers like Laura Ashley, Debenhams, Monsoon Accessorize, Cath Kidston, Quiz and Victoria’s Secret’s UK arm have all entered insolvency after being forced to shut their doors in March.
The CRR said a further 15,300 jobs have already been lost at solvent large retailers looking to cut costs.
Over the past week, Harrods, Arcadia Group and John Lewis all confirmed plans to cut jobs in a bid to secure their financial futures.
“With the tapering of furlough from next month and the scheduled end of the lease forfeiture moratorium in September, the second half of the year could be disastrous for high streets,” CRR director Joshua Bamfield said.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
