Morrisons has made 1,700 workers redundant across the UK following the sale of its newspaper home-delivery operation, a service it inherited after acquiring McColl’s Retail Group in 2022.

The decision affects as many as 25,000 households that previously received daily newspapers from their local Morrisons Daily store. The rounds were largely carried out by young people working only a few hours each week — often their first paid job.

The supermarket has transferred the service to News Team Group (NTG) for an undisclosed sum, saying the move will offer a “more efficient service”. NTG drivers have now taken over the rounds, ending decades-old paperboy and papergirl routes in some communities.

Several young workers say they were notified of the change abruptly, in some cases by letter and in others not at all.

Ben Peters, 17, from Holland-on-Sea in Essex, said he received less than a week’s notice before his final day on 27 September. After nearly five years delivering newspapers to mostly elderly customers, he described the sudden end to his job as “very difficult to take in”.

“I’ve met so many new people and spoke to them daily and it was all cut off, almost like I don’t exist,” he said. “Ninety per cent of my customers told me they’d rather cancel their papers than switch to a new company.”

Letters dated 28 October warned workers their roles were “at risk of redundancy”, but several young deliverers said they were not told when their final shift would be. One paperboy from Bishop’s Stortford only learned he had been dismissed when he arrived for work on 9 November — a day after his job had officially ended.

Parents have raised concerns about both the lack of communication and the loss of what was once considered a valuable first step into working life. One mother said her son was paid £6 to deliver up to 20 papers and often faced difficulties getting paid or finding the shop open.

In Holland-on-Sea alone, Ben says 14 young workers lost their jobs. He believes the impact on the community will be significant, noting that elderly customers often relied on familiar faces not just for their papers but for daily conversation and informal welfare checks.

“One customer had a knee injury, so I walked her dog for a couple of weeks,” he said. “There was a real sense of community.”

Some customers have since cancelled their subscriptions, citing concerns ranging from unfamiliar drivers to early-morning disturbances. Ben said one elderly resident stopped her delivery after NTG attempted to deliver newspapers at 5am, ringing a block buzzer and waking neighbours.

With fewer small, local roles available for teenagers, parents warn that the sudden removal of hundreds of paper rounds raises wider questions about opportunities for young people seeking part-time work.

Morrisons declined to provide a full list of affected stores but confirmed the redundancies took place across Morrisons Daily branches nationwide. NTG says it has gained 25,000 households through the takeover, though Morrisons puts the figure closer to 18,000. Photo by Rept0n1x, Wikimedia commons.