Marks and Spencer is to cut around 7,000 jobs over the next three months as it continues to react to the UK’s response to the Covid pandemic.
The figure represents around a tenth of its workforce
Trading in the stores says the Company, remains well below last year, with online and home delivery strong adding that is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post Covid sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change.
“We have also learnt that we can work more flexibly and productively with more colleagues multi-tasking and transitioning between Food and Clothing & Home. The deployment of our leading store technology package developed in partnership with Microsoft has also enabled us to reduce layers of management and overheads in the support office.
Jobs will go in its central support centre, in regional management, and in our UK stores, reflecting the fact that the change has been felt throughout the business.
Chief Executive Steve Rowe commented:
“In May we outlined our 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. Three months on and our Never the Same Again programme is progressing; albeit the outlook is uncertain and we remain cautious. As part of our Never The Same Again programme to embed the positive changes in ways of working through the crisis, we are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures. 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.”
