It inherited many of the staff when it bought a retail operation in 2022Sophie Barnett and Neil Shaw Assistant Editor
09:17, 20 Nov 2025Updated 08:20, 21 Nov 2025
A shopping trolley outside a Morrisons supermarket
Morrisons has made 1,700 people redundant across the UK after selling a home delivery operation. The supermarket chain inherited newspaper rounds when it bought McColl’s Retail Group in 2022.
As many as 25,000 households got their daily paper from Morrisons Daily, largely employing young people for less than eight hours a week. But the retail giant has sold its home delivery operation to News Team Group (NTG) for an undisclosed sum – ending what for many teenagers was their first paid job.
Their rounds have been taken over by delivery drivers working for NTG, which Morrisons says is “a more efficient service”. The paperboys and girls are understood to have been informed by letter – although one says he turned up to work to discover he’d been let go.
Ben Peters, 17, from Holland-on-Sea, Essex, spent four years and seven months delivering newspapers to his mostly elderly customers before he was given less than a week’s notice the job would end of September 27. He said: “Losing my job has been very difficult to take in because I’d done it for such a long time.
“I’ve met so many new people and spoke to them daily and it was all cut off, almost like I don’t exist. Most of the feedback was, 90 per cent, said they would rather cancel their papers than give it to a new company instead.”
Morrisons customers were told the switch would provide a “faster, more reliable” service and changed automatically, it is understood. Many young deliverers received a letter dated October 28 informing them their jobs were “at risk of redundancy”.
But were unaware it would end so quickly with one saying they were never told when their final day actually was. Ben said 14 others also lost their roles at the Morrisons Daily at Holland-on-Sea. He says the loss will be a huge blow to the customers – as the paper rounds formed a strong part of the community.
The teen delivered to mostly elderly customers, and would check in and have a chat with them when he did his rounds. He said: “I spoke to my customers a lot and there was a sense of community. They even supported me when I did my GCSEs.
“Most of them are elderly and I’d check on them as they have medical problems and stuff. One, when she had a knee injury, I was able to walk her dog too for a couple of weeks.”
Ben said many of his customers were anxious about the change. He claimed one cancelled when the new delivery firm attempted to deliver at 5am, waking neighbours by ringing the flats’ buzzer.
He added that opportunities for teens were so rare and despite applying widely, he has still not found a new role. Another teenage paperboy from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, who wished not to be named, turned up to work on November 9, completely unaware that November 8 had been his last day.
His mother said: “He went in as usual and was told his job had ended the day before. He had never been told. A letter saying your job is at risk is one thing, but quite another to lose your job without knowing. I’d be surprised if the company has really saved money from this.
“He was paid £6 to deliver up to 20 papers and often had to chase to be paid, or couldn’t even work because the shop was closed without warning.”
Customers received letters saying the move would have a “positive impact”, and that NTG offered a faster service. They were automatically transferred by 9 November. A Morrisons spokesperson said the “long-term decline” in newspaper home delivery had become impossible to sustain.
A spokesperson said: “Following a thorough review, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the service and transition remaining customers to News Team Ltd, which operates the UK’s largest news and magazine delivery network. As News Team Ltd already operates in this area we’ve been able to build our customers into their existing deliveries and offer a more efficient service.
“This has allowed us to protect the service for customers, including vulnerable customers, who rely on their daily newspaper delivery. Regrettably, this has resulted in circa 1,700 newspaper delivery colleagues – who worked on average less than eight hours per week – being made redundant and we have supported affected colleagues throughout this process.”
Morrisons said the teenager in Bishop’s Stortford not being told of his last day was an isolated issue and the process would be reviewed internally. A spokesperson said they believe he was sent a letter but he was on holiday at the time of the consultation.
Families affected said the redundancies left hardworking teenagers confused, upset and out of pocket. One parent told the Coventry Telegraph, which reported the problem in Coventry only: “Morrisons are making children’s jobs redundant, taking away the opportunity for many young people to experience their first job and teaching them the discipline and work ethic needed to make deliveries in the early mornings.
“It also means that your newspaper will no longer be delivered to the residents of Coventry by local children.”
Another parent said: “With paper rounds once seen as a valuable first job and rite of passage for young people, the sudden disappearance of hundreds of roles across the country raises fresh questions about what opportunities remain for teenagers looking to earn their own money.”
Morrisons declined to give a list of the stores affected but said it was at Morrisons Daily stores nationwide. News Team Group have reported it gained 25,000 households from the takeover, while Morrisons’ press office puts the figure closer to 18,000.