The Freemans and Grattan catalogues, Barclays and Jaguar Land Rover today said thousands of jobs will be axed, bringing the total this week up to nearly 13,000.

Tonight's culls added further to the sense of urgency surrounding Government efforts to ease the credit markets which have been squeezing businesses to extinction.

Freemans Grattan Holdings tonight said it would start consulting over redundancies with its entire 3800 staff and said it would be shutting warehouses as it copes with “significant losses” due to the tough climate for consumers.

FGH chief executive Koert Tulleners stressed the company, owned by the German retail giant Otto, was not going to be shut down completely.

Jaguar said it was cutting 300 management jobs and a further 150 agency staff as it struggles with a “severe” fall in demand for new cars. Analysts said the business bought by India's Tata last year was desperately attempting to look like it was making painful cutbacks as it lobbies the Government for £1 billion in taxpayer aid.

In a move eerily reminiscent of the pay-and-bonus freezes at Britain's bailed-out banks, Jaguar Land Rover said managers who survive the cull will not receive any bonuses in 2009 and their pay increases have been deferred to next October at the earliest.

Chief executive David Smith said: “It is only right that our response to the unavoidable impact of the credit crunch and a severe reduction in demand includes actions across all grades and functions in the company. We don't expect sales conditions to return to normal levels for some time.”

Barclays today doubled job cuts announced yesterday. It will cut 2100 more UK retail and commercial banking posts, adding to yesterday's identical number including hundreds in investment banking and wealth management.

Meanwhile, administrators to the collapsed Zavvi record shops chain said it will axe 353 jobs when it closes 18 stores. Ernst & Young said it had not received any bids for the company as a whole and so was forced to close shops.

Furniture maker Europa Sofabeds went under as well, with the loss of 175 staff. It has suffered from the tough consumer and credit markets.

Drugs company Pfizer said it would be cutting up to 240 jobs at its plant in Sandwich, Kent, as it tried to focus its business down on 10 disease areas.