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Marks & Spencer to Cut 950 Jobs as Virus Weighs on Retailers

Marks & Spencer to Cut 950 Jobs as Covid-19 Weighs on Retailers

Marks & Spencer Group Plc plans to cut 950 jobs in yet another blow to British shopping districts reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

The clothing and homewares retailer said the job losses would come from central support functions in its property and field operations as well as its store management network. The cuts represent about 1.2% of its workforce of 78,000.

M&S follows department-store chain Debenhams Plc, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s drugstores and the John Lewis Partnership Plc, owner of the upmarket grocer Waitrose, in announcing drastic job cuts. Britain’s retailers are struggling to return to normal after months of store closures as lockdown measures have been progressively eased.

The move could be controversial, given that M&S took government support when furloughing 27,000 workers during the pandemic. The stock slumped as much as 2.6% in London trading.

In an effort to avoid significant job losses, the U.K. government has since offered businesses a 1,000 pound ($1,250) bonus for every employee who returns to work, but the measure failed to stem the tide of job cuts. M&S said it hasn’t decided whether to accept the bonus for employees who have returned to work.

The retailer has been trying to turn around for at least the last decade. When it announced its results in May, Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe said the crisis may accelerate turnaround efforts at a business with a “history of slow cultural change.”

The company disbanded many working groups and committees in favor of a smaller top team that can make decisions faster, and employees in stores and support centers are working more flexibly, according to Rowe. Wider strategic goals such as reducing its clothing range and working with a smaller set of suppliers have also been hastened by the crisis.

M&S has struggled in a highly competitive grocery market and after failing to keep up with online “fast fashion” rivals. In May, the company said it was outperforming its worst-case coronavirus scenario after reacting quickly to the pandemic, canceling about 100 million pounds ($122 million) of clothing and home orders.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.