With what feels like a tidal wave of job cuts, major retailers have been hitting the headlines with new workplace redundancies.
Morrisons has recently announced that it was slashing over 200 jobs from its retail people team, while Sainsbury’s is set to cut 3,000 roles by closing its hot food counters and cafes.
Clothing stores haven’t been safe either. Popular fashion chain River Island announced a redundancy programme at its London head office, while footwear retailer Schuh has launched its own redundancy and restructuring process.
But while these cuts primarily target in-store or office roles, remote jobs have been less affected so far – potentially showing a gap in job security between traditional roles and those tied to the digital economy.
Why are Morrisons and Sainsbury’s axing more jobs?
Morrisons and Sainsbury’s latest job cuts come just a few months after axing hundreds of roles in 2024.
Morrisons announced that its latest wave of redundancies will be part of a cost-saving initiative, while Sainsbury’s says its decision was based on “simplifying the business”, adding that most shoppers “do not use the cafes regularly”.
Meanwhile, River Island’s redundancies stem from its profit struggles, having reported a pre-tax loss of £32.2 million in October, as well as a 15% decline in sales. Schuh has also followed suit to try and navigate challenging economic conditions and rising costs.
However, the rise of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for employers is likely a contributing factor as well, adding more pressure to already tight budgets.
Last month, Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh called on the Labour government to stagger its “avalanche of costs” that businesses will face following the Autumn Budget announcement.
“The National Insurance change adds insult to injury. The problem is that it’s an avalanche of costs that is coming all at once,” Baitiéh commented. “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.”
Are remote teams at lower risk?
On the other hand, fully remote roles are reported to have a lower risk of redundancies compared to full-time office positions.
According to research from the Startups 100 for 2025 survey, businesses that operate on a full-time office model had a 58% layoff rate – the highest out of any other work model. Meanwhile, remote-working businesses had a lower layoff rate of 45% and a higher level of operational streamlining.
Only 33% of office-based businesses reported implementing streamlining operations to reduce costs, which could suggest that they face more financial pressures – such as business overhead costs associated with maintaining a physical space – thus leading to further redundancies.
Remote firms becoming less common
But despite research suggesting that remote positions are likely safer from job cuts, the number of fully remote jobs has declined significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid the increasing number of companies enforcing return to office (RTO) mandates, many workers are finding it harder to secure fully remote roles. What’s more, our findings revealed that the number of fully remote businesses had halved within a year – declining from 32% to 16% from 2023 to 2024.
There are several reasons for this. First, many companies believe that returning to the office fosters better teamwork and creativity, while some leaders feel that in-person work is more productive or essential for maintaining company culture.
Additionally, leaders in certain industries are more sceptical about long term productivity. High-profile CEOs, for example, have argued that remote setups can lead to complacency or hinder innovation.
The rise of hybrid work models could be a contributing factor as well, particularly as 26% of businesses opted for this model in 2024 – a 44% increase from the previous year.
As job cuts continue to loom, it’s clear that the job market is going through changes. While remote roles appear to be safer from layoffs compared to office jobs, the rise of hybrid work and the push for people to return to the office are making things a little more uncertain.
Rising costs, like the increase in NICs, are forcing businesses to make tough decisions, including cutting staff and changing how they operate – making real job security difficult to find amid economic uncertainties.
