Morrisons CEO Rami Baitieh has called on Labour to stagger its “avalanche” of Budget business costs

Speaking to The Sun, the grocery boss urged the government to consider the combined costs retailers faced, amid warnings they would lead to fewer staff members and increased prices.

The costs include business rate rises, National Insurance changes, the minimum wage rise and packaging levy.

The supermarket CEO said: “The National Insurance change adds insult to injury. The problem is that it’s an avalanche of costs that is coming all at once.

“So I have asked them, can we not defer some of it or go step by step, like a doctor would do — raising the dose with seven pills over seven days.”

The National Insurance changes are thought to have cost Morrisons roughly £75m.

Retailers faced a significant jump in costs following Rachel Reeves’ Budget last month, the first by a Labour government in 14 years.

Following the Budget, UK retailers warned Reeves that her decision to increase employers’ NI contributions will lead to “inevitable” job cuts and price rises.

In a letter, more than 70 companies including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons said that the hike, combined with a rise in the national minimum wage and new packaging levies, could see the retail industry’s costs surge by up to £7bn a year.

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