Marks & Spencer says it will cut 7,000 jobs over three months

Marks & Spencer is to cut about 7,000 jobs over the next three months in the latest round of redundancies at the retailer as it cuts costs and changes the business in the wake of the pandemic.

The job cuts will be in its central support centre, regional management and its UK stores, adding to the swathe of job cuts announced by UK companies during the coronavirus crisis.

M&S said it expects a “significant proportion” of the job losses will be made through voluntary redundancies or early retirement and has begun consultations with staff.

UK retail and hospitality job cuts on back of Covid-19 crisis

M&Co – 400 jobs
5 August: M&Co., the Renfrewshire-based clothing retailer, formerly known as Mackays, will close 47 of 215 stores.

WH Smith – 1,500 jobs
5 August: The chain, which sells products ranging from sandwiches to stationery, will cut jobs mainly in UK railway stations and airports. 

Pizza Express – 1,100 jobs
4 August: The restaurant chain plans the closure of 70 restaurants as part of a rescue restructure deal.

Dixons Carphone – 800 jobs
4 August: Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone is cutting 800 managers in its stores as it continues to reduce costs.

DW Sports – 1,700 jobs at risk
3 August: DW Sports fell into administration, closing its retail website immediately and risking the closure of its 150 gyms and shops.

Marks & Spencer – 950 jobs
20 July: The high street stalwart cuts management jobs in stores as well as head office roles related to property and store operations.

Ted Baker – 500 jobs
19 July: About 200 roles to go at the fashion retailer’s London headquarters, the Ugly Brown Building, and the remainder at stores.

Azzurri – 1,200 jobs
17 July: The owner of the Ask Italian and Zizzi pizza chains closes 75 restaurants and makes its Pod lunch business delivery only

Burberry – 500 jobs worldwide
15 July: Total includes 150 posts in UK head offices as luxury brand tries to slash costs by £55m after a slump in sales during the pandemic.

Boots – 4,000 jobs
9 July: Boots is cutting 4,000 jobs – or 7% of its workforce – by closing 48 opticians outlets and reducing staff at its head office in Nottingham as well as some management and customer service roles in stores.

John Lewis – 1,300 jobs
9 July: John Lewis announced that it is planning to permanently close eight of its 50 stores, including full department stores in Birmingham and Watford, with the likely loss of 1,300 jobs.

Celtic Manor – 450 jobs
9 July: Bosses at the Celtic Collection in Newport, which staged golf’s Ryder Cup in 2010 and the 2014 Nato Conference, said 450 of its 995 workers will lose their jobs.

Pret a Manger – 1,000 jobs
6 July: Pret a Manger is to permanently close 30 branches and could cut at least 1,000 jobs after suffering “significant operating losses” as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown

Casual Dining Group – 1,900 jobs
2 July: The owner of the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant chains collapsed into administration, with the immediate loss of 1,900 jobs. The company said multiple offers were on the table for parts of the business but buyers did not want to acquire all the existing sites and 91 of its 250 outlets would remain permanently closed.

Arcadia – 500 jobs
1 July: Arcadia, Sir Philip Green’s troubled fashion group – which owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis – said in July 500 head office jobs out of 2,500 would go in the coming weeks.

SSP Group – 5,000 jobs
1 July: The owner of Upper Crust and Caffè Ritazza is to axe 5,000 jobs, about half of its workforce, with cuts at its head office and across its UK operations after the pandemic stalled domestic and international travel.

Harrods – 700 jobs
1 July: The department store group is cutting one in seven of its 4,800 employees because of the “ongoing impacts” of the pandemic.

Harveys – 240 jobs
30 June: Administrators made 240 redundancies at the furniture chain Harveys, with more than 1,300 jobs at risk if a buyer cannot be found.

TM Lewin – 600 jobs
30 June: Shirtmaker TM Lewin closed all 66 of its outlets permanently, with the loss of about 600 jobs.

Monsoon Accessorize – 545 jobs
11 June: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by their founder, Peter Simon, in June, in a deal in which 35 stores closed permanently and 545 jobs were lost.

Mulberry – 470 jobs
8 June: The luxury fashion and accessories brand is to cut 25% of its global workforce and has started a consultation with the 470 staff at risk.

The Restaurant Group – 3,000 jobs
3 June: The owner of dining chains such as Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s has closed most branches of Chiquito and all 11 of its Food & Fuel pubs, with another 120 restaurants to close permanently. Total job losses could reach 3,000.

Clarks – 900 jobs
21 May: Clarks plans to cut 900 office jobs worldwide as it grapples with the growth of online shoe shopping as well as the pandemic.

Oasis and Warehouse – 1,800 jobs
30 April: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by the restructuring firm Hilco in April, with all of their stores permanently closed and 1,800 jobs lost.

Cath Kidston – 900 jobs
21 April: More than 900 jobs were cut immediately at the retro retail label Cath Kidston after the company said it was permanently closing all 60 of its UK stores.

Debenhams – 4,000 jobs
9 April: At least 4,000 jobs will be lost at Debenhams in its head office and closed stores after its collapse into administration in April, for the second time in a year.

Laura Ashley – 2,700 jobs
17 March: Laura Ashley collapsed into administration, with 2,700 job losses, and said rescue talks had been thwarted by the pandemic.

The clothing, food and homeware retailer said what it called a “streamlining programme” was an important step in reducing its costs, and allowing it to emerge from the coronavirus crisis with a lower cost base and more resilient business.

Marks & Spencer’s chief executive Steve Rowe said the job cuts were part of its previously announced plans to “learn from the crisis, accelerate our transformation and deliver a stronger, more agile business in a world in which some customer habits were changed forever”.

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“The outlook is uncertain and we remain cautious,” Rowe said. “These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs, and we are committed to supporting colleagues through this time.”

M&S said it also expects to create a number of new jobs to serve its online operations, including in online fulfilment and a new food warehouse, as it prepares for online delivery firm Ocado to begin supplying its food products on 1 September.

The retailer has launched more than 500 new products in stores as part of an expanded online range which will be supplied by Ocado.

Food sales at M&S have risen 2.5% in the 13 weeks to 8 August, and the company said demand had grown since the shift following the closure of its stores at travel locations such as train stations, while its food halls remained open during lockdown.

Sales of clothing and homeware slumped by 38% in past 13 weeks, as a lack of social gatherings and the continued closure of many offices meant customers opting for leisure wear and casual clothing rather than office or formal wear.

M&S said its in-store sales have gradually improved since shops were allowed to reopen, with trading close to last year’s levels at some of its newer out of town stores, which customers usually travel to by car.

However, sales are still “heavily impacted” at some of its older stores in town centres and some shopping centres.

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