Thousands of M&S jobs at risk in store closures

THOUSANDS OF jobs are at risk after retail giant Marks & Spencer announced it is to close more than 100 stores by 2022.

The closures, which form part of what the firm called “a transformation programme”, will affect its clothing and home stores, which have underperformed for several years.

M&S has named 14 stores earmarked for closure, including in London’s Bayswater and Holloway Road, with a total of 872 employees affected.

So far no closures have been announced in Yorkshire with a spokesperson for the company telling it would not comment on any stores at risk in the region.

The announcement comes on the day that M&S, which began life as a stall on Kirkgate market in Leeds, is expected to publish another troubling set of figures with its financial results set to show that underlying pretax profit declined by six per cent to £573m.

The move is part of a five-year turnaround plan spearheaded by chairman Archie Norman and chief executive Steve Rowe, who have been seeking to save costs through store closures and shutting distribution centres.

Sacha Berendji, retail and property director at M&S, said: “We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans.

“Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S.”

David Gill, national officer for shopworkers’ union Usdaw, added: “This salami-slicing approach to reorganising the business is extremely distressing for the staff.”