10 retailers cutting jobs in 2025

It’s been a bleak start to 2025 for those in the retail industry as retailers restructure their operations in the face of increasing taxes and economic uncertainty.

It comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed this week that the sector had slashed almost a quarter of a million jobs over the past five years.

Retail Gazette takes a look at the retailers that have made job cuts in recent weeks.

Aldi

It emerged at the end of last month that Aldi was consulting over plans to restructure some of its head office divisions in a move that could see 350 roles at risk of redundancy.

The reshuffle will impact some buying department positions, including non-food, finance and some back-office functions. The supermarket chain is seeking to expand the amount of buying roles at its Atherstone head office.

A spokesperson for Aldi said: “To support our continued growth and to offer the best experience to our customers, we are consulting over proposals to restructure some Head Office teams.

“No customer facing roles are affected, and no final decisions will be made until the consultation process is complete.”

Adidas

Adidas confirmed it was slashing up to 500 roles at its Herzogenaurach headquarters earlier this month, under a wider strategy to lower operational complexity and reduce costs.

According to CEO Björn Gulden, the sportswear giant had identified these roles as “obsolete” during the restructure designed to streamline its headquarters.

It comes as the company lowered its profit forecast for 2025, with Gulden warning that the company’s operating profit will be significantly below analysts’ expectations.

Frasers Group

Frasers Group is cutting 30% of employees in its design and editorial teams under the company’s latest restructure.

The retail giant has entered a consultation with staff members across its London HQ and Shirebrook offices.The redundancies are believed to largely impact recent hires, with managerial positions remaining unaffected.

Elsewhere in the company, the group is closing three of its standalone Flannels Junior stores in Bluewater, Westfield Stratford and Westfield White City, leading to store staff being made redundant. 

In The Style

Fast fashion retailer In The Style slashed at least 17 roles at the end of February ahead of its collapse this month.

The retailer, which was bought out of administration this week, informed impacted staff in a group meeting, with some employees being dismissed without receiving their most recent pay checks.

The business has since been rescued from administration by Alps Sourcing Limited, saving 87 jobs in the UK.

New Look

Last month, New Look announced it was exiting the Irish market and would be shutting all of its 26 shops across the Republic of Ireland.

The fashion retailer said it was exiting the market after 22 years following “several years of sustained losses and challenging market conditions”. The move saw around 347 store colleagues made redundant.

The retailer added the appointment of liquidators at KPMG “was not taken lightly”, but that its Irish arm was no longer viable following a strategic review.

New Look said it was now set to refocus its investment on its UK arm and digital offering.

A spokesperson for the brand said: “We remain confident in the UK market and take pride in offering our customers great-value, high-quality fashion.”

Ocado

Ocado is reducing its research and development (R&D) team across the UK and globally in efforts to return to profitability. 

The business narrowed its pre-tax losses to £374.5m for the year to 1 December, up from the £393.6m loss the year prior.

Its plans to cut costs comes as the group has invested more than £800m into its workforce over the past four years. The brand runs around eight R&D sites in various countries, with roughly half in the UK. 

Although CEO Tim Steiner did not specify the number of job losses, he insisted it would be “significantly” fewer than the 1,000 redundancies made across the company during 2023-24.

Seasalt

Cornish fashion brand Seasalt warned it would be making “a number” of redundancies across its operations to cut costs ahead of “increased tax burdens following the budget”.

The retailer placed an unspecified number of jobs into consultation, having “thoroughly” reviewed its cost base.

Seasalt said the measures would allow it to “continue investing in our growth plans” while dealing with hiked employer National Insurance contributions and “a continued decline in positive customer sentiment and rising inflation rates”.

Select Fashion

Select Fashion is thought to be on the brink of collapse, with 35 shops expected to shut across the UK after closing 35 already this month.

The retailer appointed advisors at Moorfields to manage a liquidation process and “hundreds of staff members” are expected to be impacted, The Sun reported.

Workers may not be given redundancy pay following the chain’s collapse, according to the newspaper.

Schuh

Schuh cut 39 jobs in its head office and stores last week, with some roles going on a voluntary basis, under a broader restructure to drive down costs.

The footwear giant’s president Colin Temple said: “Due to ongoing economic challenges, we recently made the difficult decision to restructure certain areas of our business.

“This restructure includes a combination of voluntary and compulsory redundancies across our stores and head office locations, resulting in 39 roles being made redundant across the whole business.”

Job cuts at the brand were initially reported at the end of January, when it was revealed Schuh had begun a voluntary redundancy process. 

Quiz

Quiz fell into administration last month, leading to the closure of 23 shops and the axing of around 200 roles.

The clothing brand, which delisted from the London stock exchange earlier this year, appointed Teneo as administrator after ongoing financial struggles.

A pre-pack administration deal is set to see the remaining assets acquired by Orion Retail, a subsidiary controlled by the founding Ramzan family.

Despite the store closures and job cuts, a significant portion of the retailer’s staff members are expected to be saved under its restructuring, with 42 stores to continue operating under new ownership.

Quiz CEO Sheraz Ramzan said: “We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues. However, this decision will put the business in a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result.”

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