A consortium of British retailers have warned that UK's High Streets are set to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next three years.

The newly launched Retail jobs Alliance (RJA) – an industry group including Marks and Spencer (M&S), Sainsbury's, and Tesco – says that at least 300,000 roles are at risk by 2028.

Retailers in the new Alliance, which also include Asda, Kingfisher, Morrisons, and Primark, employ nearly one million people across the UK.

The group, launched on Tuesday, has been formed to advocate for a "fairer business rates system".

The RJA believes that the higher business rates multiplier threshold proposed in the chancellor's Autumn Budget will undermine future retail investment and contradict the government’s own commitment to “level the playing field between High Street and online retailers".

The retail sector currently makes up five per cent of GDP, providing three million direct jobs and 2.7 million in the supply chain.

Britain's retailers claims that Labour's current business rates plan puts these jobs at risk by "disproportionately targeting bricks-and-mortar retail".

Retail businesses paid £33 billion in taxes in 2023, accounting for 7.4% of all business taxation, significantly larger than their proportionate size in the UK economy.

“We know retail is invaluable, providing three million direct jobs and making up 5 per cent of the UK’s GDP,” wrote M&S on LinkedIn. “That’s why we're joining other retailers to support the RJA and back the retail industry wherever we can.

Last month, Sainsbury's announced plans to cut more than 3,000 jobs as part of its strategy to simplify operations and address a challenging financial environment.

The supermarket chain will close its remaining 61 in-store cafés and shut down patisserie, hot food, and pizza counters. The company said that it would instead make these food items available directly in store aisles.

The restructuring includes a 20 per cent reduction in senior management roles, with changes aimed at creating faster decision-making and reducing costs.

The supermarket currently employs 148,000 people and is in the midst of a three-year strategy to save £1 billion in operating costs.

Tesco also recently revealed plans to cut hundreds of roles across both its UK stores and head office as it looks for "more efficient ways of working".

Britain’s largest supermarket said that the decision comes as the grocery market becomes "more competitive than ever".

Tesco plans to change its bakery model in some stores, update its management structure in Tesco Mobile phone shops, and make changes at head office, impacting around 400 jobs in total.

In November last year, Britain's largest retailers warned that increased costs from the Labour government's recent budget could lead to widespread job losses and higher prices for consumers.

In a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves signed by 79 retail leaders, including executives from Tesco, Boots, M&S and Next, the industry has highlighted concerns about a £7 billion rise in annual costs following changes to employer contributions and wages.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which coordinated the letter, said the increased costs stem from multiple sources: a £2.3 billion expense from higher employer national insurance contributions, a £2.73 billion rise in wage costs, and approximately £2 billion related to new packaging responsibilities.

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