Greggs and other retailers warn Government over job losses and rising prices

Greggs has joined a group of Britain’s largest retailers to warn the Government that jobs will be lost and prices will rise due to the national insurance rise announced in October’s Budget.

More than 70 businesses have voiced their concerns in an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, saying the changes mean price hikes are a “certainty”. That comes after Ms Reeves revealed a £25.7bn change to employers’ national insurance contributions, increasing the rate of the tax and the threshold at which firms must pay.

The retail firms have warned that the national insurance rise, combined with packaging levies and increases to the national minimum wage could cost the industry more than £7bn each year.

Companies signing the letter include Aldi, Amazon UK, Boots, Lidl, JD Sports, Primark, Morrisons and Greggs.

The letter organised by the British Retail Consortium says: “We appreciate Government’s focus on improving the fiscal situation and investing in public services; we also recognise the role businesses have in supporting this. But, the sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty.”

The retailers say they would “welcome” the chance to meet with Ms Reeves and recommended potential changes including phasing the introduction of the National Insurance lower earnings threshold, delaying timelines for packing levy implementations and revisiting business rates proposals announced in the Budget.

“By adjusting the timings of some of these changes, the Government would give businesses time to adjust and greatly mitigate their harmful effects on high streets and consumers,” it read.

At the weekend, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended the Budget’s “tough” fiscal decisions amid rising criticism from businesses and Farmers’ Union protests over changes to inheritance tax.

He said: “Make no mistake, I will defend our decisions in the Budget all day long. I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality.

“I will defend the tough decisions that would be necessary to stabilise our economy and I will defend protecting the pay slips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales, finally turning the page on austerity once and for all.”