Bosses at businesses of all sizes have been left with little or no choice but to cut staff, due to the increase in National Insurance contributions and rise to the minimum wage announced in October’s Budget.

A quarter of UK employers plan to make redundancies before Budget tax increases this April (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire) Higher business rates are also set to add to company costs, and 25pc of employers now plan to make redundancies before the changes comes into effect in April, according to the latest poll by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

This is the highest level since 2014, outside of the pandemic.

Some of East Anglia’s biggest employers have already announced hundreds of job losses.

Lotus announced 200 redundancies in November, cutting jobs for the third time in just 18 months.

Lotus up to 200 redundancies last November (Image: Denise Bradley) The Norwich-based car manufacturer has invested more than £500m in technology and infrastructure at its Hethel factory to go all-electric by 2028, two years before the government’s ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars.

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Jarrolds has also axed jobs as a direct result of the Budget, with the Norwich department store making a small number of roles redundant due to rising employment........

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