A new survey from Acas has found that a third of employers are likely to make staff redundancies by January 2027. 

The poll revealed that, within this, 46% of large businesses expected to make redundancies. Meanwhile, 21% of SMEs said they were likely to do the same. 

Within a wider landscape of challenges, the figures come as retailers in the drinks trade struggle to contend with increasing costs, including higher taxes and a rising minimum wage. 

The Acas figures were also published at the same time as research by Worldpanel by Numerator on the grocery market, which addressed the ongoing issue of inflation for large grocers. 

Slightly improved compared to recent figures, Worldpanel said that supermarket inflation rose by 3.1%, which is the slowest rate of increase since December 2024. 

At the same time, take-home sales growth at grocers increased by 1.5% in the four weeks to 17 May 2026. 

Nonetheless, many retailers remain wary of inflation, as analysts from HM Treasury expect it to spike again in the next few months, impacted by the Iran war. 

It is also noted that grocery inflation, despite presently being lower than recent levels, is still above the overall inflation rate, which is currently hovering at 2.8%.