UNIONS have warned that workers are paying the price for a “continual drive” for profit with the loss of thousands of jobs since the start of the year.

Morrison, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are among firms making job loss announcements or site closures in recent weeks. They join B&Q, Vauxhall, Coca-Cola, Colmans Mustard and Kimberly-Clark in announcing cuts.

The collapse of construction giant Carillion could also lead to thousands of job cuts among workers and contractors, unions fear.