British retailer Marks and Spencer is preparing to axe almost a tenth of its workforce, as plans for a major restructure of the business are accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.
As many as 6,800 customer assistant roles could be scrapped in M&S stores across the UK, as the retail industry continues to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, say The Sun.
The reports come after the famous high street retailer, which employs around 78,000 people, last month announced plans to cut 950 staff as part of an ongoing restructuring plan which could ultimately see thousands of positions go.
However the business’s transformation plan, named ‘Never the Same Again’ at a meeting in May, could be accelerated due to the impact of the pandemic, which forced Marks and Spencer to close its clothing stores, while its Food Hall sites were allowed to stay open.
According to the Sun, bosses will consult staff today about the proposals. However a spokesperson for the retailer said it ‘would not comment on speculation’.
As many as 6,800 customer assistant roles at Marks and Spencer could be scrapped in stores across the UK, as the retail industry continues to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, say The Sun
MailOnline reported last month how bosses, under the Never the Same Again’ plan, were looking to make a complete overhaul in the business in the coming months as it adapts to the long-term impact of the pandemic.
Sources close to the plans told Sky News last month that several thousand jobs were expected to be lost over the coming months as chief executive Steve Rowe pushes through the company’s restructuring programme.
Some 27,000 M&S employees were furloughed under the Government’s job retention scheme, which was designed to prevent mass lay-offs.
Several thousand jobs are expected to be lost over the coming months as chief executive Steve Rowe (pictured) pushes through the company’s restructuring programme
Last month it announced 950 store management and head office jobs were at risk because it needed to accelerate its restructuring.
Further jobs losses are likely come after a review of costs by bosses in different parts of the company such as retail and property, clothing and home, and food and international, it was reported last month.
The reported 6,800 job cut figure dwarfs the 2,500 jobs which will be axed by Debenhams, who announced plans to axe jobs in stores and warehouses in an attempt to cut costs after sales plummeted during the coronavirus lockdown.
The department store is scrapping the roles of sales manager, visual merchandise manager and selling support manager as part of a management restructuring process.
The move, which was first reported by RetailWeek, comes four months after Debenhams collapsed into administration.
The announcement came after high street retailer Boots announced it was axing 4,000 jobs and closing 48 stores, citing the ‘significant impact’ of Covid-19.
Debenhams has announced plans to axe 2,500 jobs in stores and warehouses in an attempt to cut costs after sales plummeted during the coronavirus lockdown
John Lewis is shutting eight large stores, putting 1,300 employees at risk. Pictured: A John Lewis store in London
Some 730,000 fewer people are now on the payroll than in March before the country went into lockdown to combat the killer disease
Job vacancies showed slight signs of recovery in July – but are still far lower than during the credit crunch
Biggest fall in employment for a decade as impact of Covid is felt
Employment saw the biggest fall in a decade in the three months to June as coronavirus hit.
Official figures showed the number in work decreased by 220,000 – the largest quarterly decrease since 2009.
The 0.2 per cent drop comes after a long period after the credit crunch in which employment levels have hit repeated highs.
The employment figures are still up 0.3 per cent year on year. And unemployment stayed flat, as the government’s support schemes and a rise in inactivity masked the true effects of lockdown.
Workers aged under 24 and those over 50 were the worst hit by the fall.
The total hours worked slumped by a fifth over the quarter to the lowest level since 1994.
Meanwhile John Lewis is shutting eight large stores, putting 1,300 employees at risk.
Burger King also announced it would shutter one in ten outlets, jeopardising 1,600 positions.
And around 5,000 employees have gone at Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley, Harveys furniture store, Monsoon, Accessorize and Harrods.
In total, it is believed at least 65,000 jobs are currently at risk across the country.
The jobs losses come as the retail industry continues to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
Though shops have been allowed to welcome customers into stores again since June, many millions are still staying away.
Footfall was down 65 per cent in July compared to last year and sales tumbling by 48 per cent over the past three months.
Experts believe as many as 250,000 retail jobs could eventually go as businesses increasingly push towards online shopping.
Retail expert Richard Hyman told The Sun last month: ‘If you think there are 9.5million people on furlough, 250,000 redundancies is quite a reasonable number.
‘Pre-pandemic online sales accounted for 30 per cent of non-food sales.
‘That will rise to 40 per cent, which means hundreds of thousands of job losses.
‘Lockdown has been the catalyst, not the cause. Big firms like John Lewis have needed to shut stores for years.’
JOB LOSSES: MAJOR CUTS SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC
River Island became the latest employer to cut large numbers of jobs this week, saying it would reduce its headcount by around 350 people by shaking up management at the retailer.
Sushi chain Yo! also announced plans to cut up to 250 jobs and close 19 of its restaurants on Friday.
It means that more than 4,300 major job losses have been announced this week.
On Tuesday the Office for National Statistics said 730,000 people have been taken off payrolls since the beginning of the crisis in March.
Here is a list of some of the major British employers that have announced major job cuts since the start of the lockdown.
– Major potential job losses announced since March 23:
Total: 171,848
- August 14 – Yo! Sushi – 250
- August 14 – River Island – 350
- August 12 – NatWest – 550
- August 11 – InterContinental Hotels – 650 worldwide
- August 11 – Debenhams – 2,500
- August 7 – Evening Standard – 115
- August 6 – Travelex – 1,300
- August 6 – Wetherspoons – 110 to 130
- August 5 – M&Co – 380
- August 5 – Arsenal FC – 55
- August 5 – WH Smith – 1,500
- August 4 – Dixons Carphone – 800
- August 4 – Pizza Express – 1,100 at risk
- August 3 – Hays Travel – up to 878
- August 3 – DW Sports – 1,700 at risk
- July 31 – Byron – 651
- July 30 – Pendragon – 1,800
- July 29 – Waterstones – unknown number of head office roles
- July 28 – Selfridges – 450
- July 27 – Oak Furnitureland – 163 at risk
- July 23 – Dyson – 600 in UK, 300 overseas
- July 22 – Mears – fewer than 200
- July 20 – Marks & Spencer – 950 at risk
- July 17 – Azzurri Group (owns Zizzi and Ask Italian) – up to 1,200
- July 16 – Genting – 1,642 at risk
- July 16 – Burberry – 150 in UK, 350 overseas
- July 15 – Banks Mining – 250 at risk
- July 15 – Buzz Bingo – 573 at risk
- July 14 – Vertu – 345
- July 14 – DFS – up to 200 at risk
- July 9 – General Electric – 369
- July 9 – Eurostar – unknown number
- July 9 – Boots – 4,000
- July 9 – John Lewis – 1,300 at risk
- July 9 – Burger King – 1,600 at risk
- July 7 – Reach (owns Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers) – 550
- July 6 – Pret a Manger – 1,000 at risk
- July 2 – Casual Dining Group (owns Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge) – 1,909
- July 1 – SSP (owns Upper Crust) – 5,000 at risk
- July 1 – Arcadia (owns TopShop) – 500
- July 1 – Harrods – 700
- July 1 – Virgin Money – 300
- June 30 – Airbus – 1,700
- June 30 – TM Lewin – 600
- June 30 – Smiths Group – “some job losses”
- June 25 – Royal Mail – 2,000
- June 24 – Jet2 – 102
- June 24 – Swissport – 4,556
- June 24 – Crest Nicholson – 130
- June 23 – Shoe Zone – unknown number of jobs in head office
- June 19 – Aer Lingus – 500
- June 17 – HSBC – unknown number of jobs in UK, 35,000 worldwide
- June 15 – Jaguar Land Rover – 1,100
- June 15 – Travis Perkins – 2,500
- June 12 – Le Pain Quotidien – 200
- June 11 – Heathrow – at least 500
- June 11 – Bombardier – 600
- June 11 – Johnson Matthey – 2,500
- June 11 – Centrica – 5,000
- June 10 – Quiz – 93
- June 10 – The Restaurant Group (owns Frankie and Benny’s) – 3,000
- June 10 – Monsoon Accessorise – 545
- June 10 – Everest Windows – 188
- June 8 – BP – 10,000 worldwide
- June 8 – Mulberry – 375
- June 5 – Victoria’s Secret – 800 at risk
- June 5 – Bentley – 1,000
- June 4 – Aston Martin – 500
- June 4 – Lookers – 1,500
- May 29 – Belfast International Airport – 45
- May 28 – Debenhams (in second announcement) – “hundreds” of jobs
- May 28 – EasyJet – 4,500 worldwide
- May 26 – McLaren – 1,200
- May 22 – Carluccio’s – 1,000
- May 21 – Clarks – 900
- May 20 – Rolls-Royce – 9,000
- May 20 – Bovis Homes – unknown number
- May 19 – Ovo Energy – 2,600
- May 19 – Antler – 164
- May 15 – JCB – 950 at risk
- May 13 – Tui – 8,000 worldwide
- May 12 – Carnival UK (owns P&O Cruises and Cunard) – 450
- May 11 – P&O Ferries – 1,100 worldwide
- May 5 – Virgin Atlantic – 3,150
- May 1 – Ryanair – 3,000 worldwide
- April 30 – Oasis Warehouse – 1,800
- April 29 – WPP – unknown number
- April 28 – British Airways – 12,000
- April 23 – Safran Seats – 400
- April 23 – Meggitt – 1,800 worldwide
- April 21 – Cath Kidston – 900
- April 17 – Debenhams – 422
- March 31 – Laura Ashley – 268
- March 30 – BrightHouse – 2,400 at risk
- March 27 – Chiquito – 1,500 at risk.
