Is this a recent issue in your area? I haven't bought red onions in a while, but in the past they've been just as fresh/firm as any others we can get a hold of.
I say it's been a year, but that's mostly just going from memory. Sometimes I'm able to find a red onion that's good enough, or looks like maybe just the outer layers are not great, but I don't recall the last time I've gone to the grocery section of a store near me and found an entire batch of really good red onions.
It's terrible, I love red onions...