1,000 M&S staff face axe in high street jobs massacre

MARKS & Spencer is preparing to lay off nearly 1,000 staff after the virus crisis forced it to accelerate plans to slash costs.

The 136-year-old chain has warned it could close more of its stores as it becomes one of the most high-profile casualties of the Covid lockdown so far.

Thousands of job cuts have already been announced by a string of high street stalwarts including Boots, John Lewis and Topshop owner Arcadia.

M&S, which was already struggling before the crisis hit, had been preparing a major overhaul to become a ‘stronger, leaner’ business.

But it said the virus crisis has forced it to squeeze the overhaul, meant to last three years, into just one year.

Yesterday the chain announced 950 staff face the axe in the first phase of the cuts, but there are fears thousands more will ultimately be laid off. The first cuts will affect store managers and head office staff.

It will fuel growing fears of mass unemployment in the UK, despite frantic efforts by the Government to save jobs.

Some 27,000 M&S employees – roughly a third of its workforce – were furloughed when the lockdown forced it to shut its non-food stores.

In total, 9.4million workers across the UK are being supported by the Job Retention Scheme at a cost of almost £29billion so far.

M& S said yesterday the shake-up will help ‘ create a new retail management structure that is fit for the future – removing role duplication, providing clearer leadership accountabilities and freeing up its retails teams to focus more on the customer’.

Sacha Berendji, director of retail, operations and property at M&S said: ‘Through the crisis we have seen how we can work faster and more flexibly by empowering store teams and it’s essential we embed that way of working. Our priority now is to support all those affected through the consultation process.’

The clothing and homeware divisions at M&S have been struggling for years as it has tried to compete with more modern, fashionable rivals.

The chain revealed in May that it has been forced to write off £145million on clothes it had been unable to sell before the lockdown as profits slumped to a three- decade low. The situation had become so desperate that it said it was ‘hibernating’ £200milllion of stock in the hope it can be sold next year.

Chief executive Steve Rowe has said the retail world ‘will never be the same again’ after the lockdown, arguing it has accelerated the shift away from the high street to online.

He has warned that more of its stores could shut down as a result. M& S is halfway through plans to shut down 120 of its 1,000 shops.

And outside of the retail world, things are not looking much better.

Because after more than five centuries stood guarding the Tower of London, even Beefeaters now face redundancy for the first time in history.

The 37 Yeoman Warders, their official title, are among 1,100 employees of Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) who are at risk. HRP, the charity that runs the public areas of the Tower, depends on visitors for 80 per cent of its income – and now faces a predicted £98million shortfall this year.

A voluntary redundancy scheme was introduced last month and staff were warned that a compulsory redundancy scheme was likely to follow.

Beefeaters, the guardians of the Tower since they were formed by Henry VII in 1485, are military veterans responsible for guarding the Crown Jewels. Their role, for which they are paid £24,000 a year, includes giving guided tours.

HRP chief executive John Barnes said: ‘We are heartbroken that it has come to this. We simply have no choice but to reduce our payroll costs.’

‘We are heartbroken’