IRISH M&S STAFF SAFE AS UK RETAILER TO CUT 7,000 JOBS

MARKS & Spencer staff at stores in Ireland will not be affected by the beleaguered British retailer’s announcement of 7,000 job cuts, the company has confirmed.

A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer in Ireland told the Irish Daily Mail its 2,000 employees across 17 stores here ‘will not be affected by today’s announcement’, which comes after revenues at the company fell 19.2% due to Covid-19.

In the 19 weeks following the enactment of lockdown measures in late March, clothing and homeware sales at M&S nearly halved (49.5%), with food sales also down 1.1%. Revenues outside the UK, meanwhile, dropped 31.9% compared to the same period last year, while online revenues increased 38.9%, with online clothing and homeware sales up 32%.

M&S said in a statement that clothing and homeware trading in stores remains ‘well below’ normal levels and that it is ‘clear that there has been a material shift in trade’ due to coronavirus.

The company added that ‘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’. The 7,000 M&S redundancies will be made in the next three months, affecting staff in support centres, regional management and its UK stores.

Conversely, M&S expects to create a number of new jobs in online fulfilment and in its food warehouses over the next year.

‘We are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures,’ said Marks & Spencer’s CEO, Steve Rowe. ‘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.’

M&S employs around 78,000 people, including 2,000 staff at its 17 Irish stores.