Huge job losses predicted for the retail sector

THE head of one of the country’s top supermarket chains has said he will be “gobsmacked” if there is not significant job losses in the retail sector in the new year.

Superquinn chief executive Simon Burke said the supermarket’s sales figures for the past week were the worst seen in a decade, and that jobs would be lost across the sector if the current situation continues.

With top chains MFI and Woolworths going bust in Britain this week, and an EU survey putting consumer confidence at its lowest in 23 years, concern is mounting that sales slumps, exacerbated by shoppers crossing the border in search of cheaper goods, will have similar dire consequences for Irish retailers.