The major firms that made 280,000 people redundant since coronavirus struck

New records have been set for job losses and redundancies this year (Image: Getty Images)

The UK's unemployment rate soared during 2020 as some of the country's largest businesses laid off hundreds of thousands of staff, with some of the biggest casualties in the retail, hospitality and travel sectors.

The PA news agency tracked nearly 280,000 announced redundancies or jobs that were put at risk since March 23, when the first lockdown started.