Sainsbury's has confirmed it will cut 3,500 jobs, as the second national lockdown begins in England,
A large number of roles will go from Sainsbury's subsidiary Argos, which it took over in 2016.
Sainsbury's said the roles will go as part of plans to imminently close 120 Argos stores, which is part of a strategy to shut 420 standalone Argos branches over the next three-and-a-half years.
Job losses are also set to hit Sainsbury's stores, with the closure of all delicatessens and fresh fish and meat counters.
In April, Sainsbury's had warned over a coronavirus hit to profits of more than £500 million despite surging grocery sales.
The supermarket giant said, at the time, that the impact of Covid-19 was expected to leave underlying profits broadly flat for the year to March 2021, as it faced soaring costs for measures to protect staff and customers, as well as falls in non-food and fuel sales.
The group also added that the profits impact could be greater if lockdown was extended further and if there was a longer-term hit to the wider economy than expected.
The reported Sainsbury's job losses come as more than 2,500 jobs are set to go after the John Lewis Partnership and Lloyds Banking Group both announced major cuts.
The John Lewis Partnership told staff on Wednesday that it plans to cut 1,500 head office roles as part of cost-cutting at the retailer.
Keep up to date with local news in your area by adding your postcode below
Meanwhile, banking giant Lloyds has said it will cut 1,070 roles, predominantly in its group transformation and retail banking departments, in its second redundancy announcement in two months.
The cuts contribute to the more than 200,000 potential job losses announced across sectors including banking, hospitality, travel and retail since the start of Covid-19 pandemic in March.
