Lidl boss says businesses 'reeling' from Budget as supermarket faces 'tens of millions' in extra costs

The boss of Lidl has said retailers are “reeling” from autumn Budget tax increases, which he said will add to inflationary pressures at the grocery giant.
Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB chief executive, said the discount supermarket chain is expecting to face “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs as a result of a raft of changes launched by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month.

Ms Reeves revealed a £25.7 billion change to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) in the Budget, which would increase the rate of the tax and reduce the threshold at which firms must pay.

Retail businesses will also come under pressure from other policy changes, including packaging levies and increases to the national minimum wage.

Lidl was among major retailers – also including Tesco, Asda and M&S – who warned the Chancellor that jobs will be cut and prices will have to rise as a result of the impact.

Mr McDonnell said: “There is a lot of impact that we will have to negotiate and I think the letter shows that the industry is reeling a lot.

“We are talking about £7 billion for the whole industry. For us it will be somewhere in the tens of millions.”

He said that the jump in costs will result in “greater inflationary pressures” but stressed that it will “maintain market-leading pricing”.