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Without even making any public statements about redundancy, Morrisons has managed to shed nearly 5,000 jobs in the year ending October 2025. The workforce dropped from 101,144 to 96,232 workers (-5%) due to a failure to replace workers leaving the workforce voluntarily. Although there was no mass job cut announcement, the number of employees cut suggests serious doubts over job security, recruitment and the next phase in Morrisons’ employee numbers.
Quick Facts: Morrisons Job Cuts 2026
| Fact | Detail |
| Total roles lost | ~4,912 |
| Workforce before | 101,144 (avg monthly) |
| Workforce after | 96,232 (avg monthly) |
| Store jobs cut | 4,200+ |
| Also affected | Food manufacturing, distribution |
| Method | Attrition (not replacing leavers) |
| Formal redundancy programme? | No |
| Annual staffing costs | £2.1bn (up slightly) |
| Net debt (Oct 2025) | £7.5bn |
| Market position | 6th largest UK grocer |
How Did 5,000 Jobs Disappear If Nobody Was Made Redundant?
The question staff members in the UK are asking is this: and the answer for many large retailers is a tactic they are increasingly using to reduce their workforce: attrition.
If a Morrisonian left the company, resigned from her position or retired, she was not replaced. In a year that was spent on the job, it eliminated almost 5,000 positions, mostly in stores, but also in food manufacturing and distribution.
The cuts in staffing were linked to three operational adjustments:
- Closing newspaper home delivery in convenience stores
- The reorganisation of the retail management team.
- The bakery site in Rathbones has undergone a reduction in production.
None of these led to a formal redundancy process, so affected workers did not receive any statutory redundancy pay related to these decisions, and the cuts were not as headline-grabbing as a big announcement would have been.
What the Numbers Actually Mean for Workers
In spite of the Morrisons redundancies, wages went up, to a total of £2.1bn per annum for staff. The government-induced tax changes saw the level of employers’ National Insurance contributions increase by £30m to £172m. That is: lower numbers and higher per capita.
This economic squeeze is set to continue. The supermarket’s net debt rose to £7.5bn for the year to October 2025, in part due to the high cost of a cyber attack and major asset write-downs. The business swung to a pre-tax loss of £926m.
To fill the void, Morrisons is said to be in talks for a £600m sale and leaseback of its estate portfolio and has already handed over the closure of some 100 of the former McColl’s convenience stores, rebranded as Morrisons Daily.
Morrisons vs the Broader UK Supermarket Landscape
| Metric | Morrisons | Lidl | Aldi |
| UK market position (2026) | 6th | 5th | Growing |
| Market share trajectory | Declining | Growing | Growing |
| The rate of workforce change (recent year) | -5% (~4,912) | Expanding | Expanding |
| Debt burden | £7.5bn | Low | Low |
| Store count | Convenience: 500 large + thousands of convenience | Expanding | Expanding |
Competition is a reality! However, Lidl has managed to edge out Morrisons in terms of market share in the UK in 2026, thereby relegating the Bradford-based retailer to the sixth position among the largest supermarkets in the UK, a feat for an erstwhile top four supermarket chain.
What Workers Should Watch Next
If you are currently at Morrisons—or you’re thinking about applying to a job at Morrisons—here are some indicators to follow:
1. Attrition model: positions are disappearing without notice. That’s a major sign that more cuts are to come at Morrisons, as departments cease to advertise internal jobs.
2. AI & automation implementation: In 2026, Morrisons made an announcement about 200 redundancies at its headquarters as part of the implementation of AI and automation. The firm has announced a long-term project for “automation of various manual processes” to make full use of data and AI. This impacts business and support activities more than shop floor activities, for now.
3. Convenience store closures: The Morrisons Daily (ex-McColl’s) store closure of ~100 stores is a head-on hit in the reduction of Morrisons supermarket jobs at a local level. Smaller format stores are the most vulnerable in the near term.
4. Property deals and their knock-on effects:The sale and leaseback agreement may impact the viability of stores to run over the long term.
5. Debt restructuring decisions: As the company has net debt of £7.5bn, any pressure on the lenders could speed up cost-cutting, which will include any additional workforce cuts at Morrisons that haven’t been announced.
Is Morrisons Still Hiring?
Although the Morrisons job losses have had an impact, the supermarket is not completely closed to jobs. Generally, frontline retail jobs are replaced naturally, and the company continues to believe that it has like-for-like growth every quarter. But the overall trend is definitely downward: jobs are being outsourced, and job losses are occurring at a greater rate than new jobs are created.
Those who have more portable retail experience, such as logistics, fresh food manufacturing or store management, could have a more secure base at other stores that are in a growth stage.
FAQs: Morrisons Job Cuts 2026
Did Morrisons employees lose their job in 2026?
No formal programme of mass redundancies was started in stores. The majority of the 4,912 positions that were eliminated were due to attrition of employees. But a new wave of up to 200 head office job cuts was also announced earlier this year in 2026, as part of the AI restructuring.
Which departments of Morrisons were hit hardest by the closures?
The largest number of losses was in store jobs (4,200+), followed by food manufacturing and distribution. Two major factors were the closure of the newspaper delivery and the reduced bakery operations.
Will more jobs be lost at Morrisons?
There is still a possibility of more Morrisons employees losing their jobs, or being shed through attrition, given the company’s debt burden of £7.5bn, the ongoing competitive pressure from Lidl and Aldi and its stated long-term plan to cut down on human resources and replace them with artificial intelligence and automation.
Where is Morrisons’ money now?
The company reported a pre-tax loss of £926m for the year to October 2025, including a cyber attack and write downs. Revenue grew 2.8% to £15.7bn, and underlying profit remained broadly flat at £835m.
Am I at risk of losing my job at Morrisons?
The immediate risk for workers at the frontline of the stores, excluding convenience/Morrisons Daily, is lower than that of head office and bakery workers. The overall trend of the restructure of the Morrisons business in 2026, however, shows a tendency toward having a lean business, thus creating limited avenues for career advancement through internal promotions.
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