Currys boss blames Labor’s ‘job tax’ as company announces plans to hire more workers in India

The Currys boss has warned that price rises, hiring more workers in India and automation are ‘inevitable’ following the Chancellor’s ‘tax on jobs’ Budget.

Alex Baldock said the electronics retailer in Britain will not hire as many staff after Rachel Reeves dealt with a £25 billion increase in National Insurance (NI).

The raid will cost Currys an additional £30 million a year, with the company also facing an inflation-busting increase in the minimum wage and higher business rates.

These higher costs mean Currys is looking to hire more workers in India, where it already employs 3.6 percent of the workforce.

Baldock said: “We already have most of the 1,000 colleagues in India – all the usual central and IT roles you would expect – and they are doing a fantastic job.

‘You can expect that as the costs of the UK population rise you will see more of that, it’s just inevitable.’

He said the NI increase is ‘a tax on jobs that does not benefit colleagues at all’.

The employer NI rate was increased from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, and the threshold for paying this has been reduced from £9,100 to £5,000. Currys will also increase the use of automation in the workplace.

Baldock warned that price increases are ‘inevitable’, although he insisted Currys will ‘do our best to keep these to a minimum’.

Baldock called the budget “useless” and said: “We want to invest more, hire more and help the economy grow faster.

“What we’re asking is that the environment allows us to do that.” He added: ‘The picture is less rosy than in the summer, but slightly better than a year ago.

“Inflation fell over the summer, interest rates were expected to fall, consumer confidence and spending rose, and that has stalled.”

Despite this, the company impressed shareholders when it reported huge Christmas trading.

Strong demand for laptops, mobile phones and games saw UK sales rise 2 per cent in the ten weeks to January 4.

And it now expects profits of between £145m and £155m for the year to April 2025, an increase of up to 31 per cent on the previous year. Shares rose 10.3 percent, or 8.8p, to 90.8p.

Investors were also cheered by news that the group will pay a dividend of around €1.3 per share when it publishes its annual results in July. This is the first payment since 2022.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: ‘Currys has joined the crowd of retailers enjoying a strong festive trading period, and the confirmation of a return to dividend payments comes as an added bonus.

‘On balance, Currys has an optimistic view. The market consensus to buy the shares will remain intact as investors believe this growth story has yet to continue,” he added.