Reports are rife that British high street retailer Marks & Spencer is looking to stem its losses and improve sales and efficiency by slashing as many as 500 jobs at its head office next week.
M&S’ new CEO, Steve Rowe is trying to put a halt to a slump in sales, Sky News reported on Saturday.
Reports also suggest that contractors will be the hardest hit when the job cuts happen at M&S’ Paddington-based headquarters in London.
Last week, the firm was slammed for “unacceptable” performance of its clothing and home arm after sales dropped by 8.9 per cent. Following this, Steve Rowe had said that they would be changing the pay and pension scheme, cutting premium pay for Sundays.
What followed was complete outrage, sparking a protest against the retailer. 70,000 people signing a petition calling on M&S to scrap proposed pay cuts to offset the cost of the National Living Wage.
Post that, on Friday, M&S had said it was offering a multi-year pay guarantee that would make its staff “amongst the highest paid in UK retail” along with “one of the best benefits packages”.
However, the new package came with a rider – 500 job cuts. The retailer has announced that the cuts will not affect shop floor staff.
Steve Rowe replaced Marc Bolland as chief executive earlier this year with analysts predicting he’ll look to shrink Marks and Spencer’s store estate as online rivals continue to hit the retailer’s clothing business.
The Sunday Telegraph also reported last week Rowe was planning to cut parts of Marks and Spencer’s international business, including a prominent store of the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
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