Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 17 August 2026
source“Debt-laden grocer Morrisons takes axe to 5,000 jobs as it struggles to shore up its finances”
R4/ 10
Selective
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Daily Mail's claim that Morrisons "takes axe to 5,000 jobs" a 4/10 because the job cuts and debt rise are real and match Companies House accounts, but the company itself says the fall was largely attrition and a service closure, not an active axe-wielding redundancy drive.
The Verdict
Selective. The core numbers check out against the filed accounts, but the headline's active verb, "takes axe to," implies a deliberate mass-layoff decision, when Morrisons' own spokesman said there was no additional store redundancy programme and the reduction came mostly from natural attrition and a service closure. The framing also omits that underlying EBITDA held steady, which cuts against the "struggling to shore up its finances" narrative.
What actually happened
Morrisons' newly filed accounts show its average monthly workforce fell from 101,144 to 96,232 for the year to October 2025, a drop of 4,912 staff, while reported net debt rose to £7.52 billion from £7.07 billion. Revenue rose 2.8% to £15.7 billion and the group posted a £629 million pre-tax loss before exceptional items, despite disruption from a December 2024 cyber incident.
Key facts
- Average monthly workforce: 101,144 → 96,232, a fall of 4,912 (matches the "5,000" headline figure).
- Reported net debt: £7.52 billion, up from £7.07 billion a year earlier, though this figure "included lease liabilities and preference shares, with net debt of £3.2 billion excluding these."
- Pre-tax loss: £629 million annual pre-tax loss, before exceptional items.
- Underlying performance: EBITDA remained at £835 million for the year despite cost increases linked to the previous autumn budget.
- Revenue: up 2.8% to £15.7 billion, despite the December 2024 IT outage from a cyber incident.
- Company explanation for job losses: "there was no additional redundancy programme in stores, where numbers were only reduced by not replacing those who had chosen to leave."
What to watch for
- Watch whether next year's accounts show further attrition-driven cuts framed as "axe" headlines, versus explicit redundancy announcements.
- The £3.2 billion underlying net debt figure (stripping out lease and preference-share liabilities) is the more comparable metric to prior years' £3.1-3.5 billion range; watch which number outlets lead with next reporting cycle.
- Baitieh's turnaround programme and market share versus Aldi/Lidl remain the real story to track, not the headline debt figure alone.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
