Morrisons has made 1,700 paperboys and papergirls redundant after selling its home delivery operation.
Around 25,000 households get their daily paper from Morrisons Daily, the delivery wing of the major supermarket chain.
The body largely employed young people for less than eight hours a week.
But Morrisons has now sold the operation off to News Team Group (NTG) for an undisclosed sum – marking the end of many teenagers’ first jobs.
Their rounds have been taken over by delivery drivers from NTG, which Morrisons says is ‘a more efficient service’.
Paperboys and papergirls are understood to have been informed by letter.
Ben Peters, 17, spent four years and seven months delivering newspapers to mostly elderly customers before he was given less than a week’s notice the job would end on September 27.
The paperboy, from Holland-on-Sea, Essex said: ‘Losing my job has been very difficult to take in because I’d done it for such a long time.
Morrisons has made 1,700 paperboys and papergirls redundant after selling its home delivery operation
‘I’ve met so many new people and spoke to them daily and it was all cut off, almost like I don’t exist.’
Many young deliverers received a letter dated October 28 informing them their jobs were ‘at risk of redundancy’ but were unaware their careers would end so quickly.
Mr Peters said 14 colleagues also lost their roles at the Morrisons Daily at Holland-on-Sea.
He added: ‘I spoke to my customers a lot and there was a sense of community. They even supported me when I did my GCSEs.
‘Most of them are elderly and I’d check on them as they have medical problems and stuff.
‘One, when she had a knee injury, I was able to walk her dog too for a couple of weeks.’
Mr Peters claimed many customers were anxious about the change, with one saying they cancelled when the new firm attempted to deliver at 5am, waking neighbours by ringing the flat’s buzzer.
He added that job opportunities for teens were so rare and, despite applying widely, he has still not found a new role.
The body largely employed young people, including Ben Peters, pictured, for less than eight hours a week
Customers received letters saying the move would have a ‘positive impact’, and that NTG offered a faster service. They were automatically transferred by November 9.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: ‘Following a thorough review, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the service and transition remaining customers to News Team Ltd, which operates the UK’s largest news and magazine delivery network.
‘As News Team Ltd already operates in this area we’ve been able to build our customers into their existing deliveries and offer a more efficient service.
‘This has allowed us to protect the service for customers, including vulnerable customers, who rely on their daily newspaper delivery.
‘Regrettably, this has resulted in circa 1,700 newspaper delivery colleagues – who worked on average less than eight hours per week – being made redundant and we have supported affected colleagues throughout this process.’
It comes after Morrisons confirmed it would close 103 stores, cafes, florists and pharmacies this year.
The chain had already announced 50 cafes across the country would close this year as part of a ‘restructuring’ programme.
The retail giant will also close 17 daily convenience stores, 13 florists, four pharmacies and all 18 Market Kitchens.
In addition, 35 meat counters and 35 fish counters are also expected to close as part of the restructure.
Most of the 17 daily convenience store closures have already taken place, with shops shutting for the last time in April.
The closures are part of a plan to ‘accelerate growth’, ‘optimise operations’ and ‘help mitigate recent significant cost increases’.
