M&S to axe 950 jobs as part of transformation plan
Marks & Spencer is to cut 950 jobs as part of plans to accelerate work on its transformation plan due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, the retailer said the proposals will enable it to move to a leaner and faster management structure.
M&S said in May that it would be working to speed up its transformation work to reduce the time it takes to achieve targets from three years to one. It also announced that it would be introducing more flexible management structures in its stores.
In this latest statement, M&S said the changes will result in it creating a new retail management structure that removes role duplication, provides clearer leadership accountabilities and frees up more time for retail staff to focus more on the customer. Roles affected will be in the retailer’s central support function and span field and operations and property and store management.
M&S has now started a consultation process with its employee representative group with a view to initially offering staff voluntary redundancy.
Sacha Berendji, director of retail, operations and property at M&S, said: “Our proposals reflect an important next step in our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and become a stronger, leaner and more resilient business.
“Through the crisis we have seen how we can work faster and more flexibly by empowering store teams and it’s essential that we embed that way of working. Our priority now is to support all those affected through the consultation process and beyond.”
Photo by Georgia Hawkins
