Marks & Spencer 'to cut 1,000 jobs'

Tuesday, 06 January 2009 07:00

Marks & Spencer will announce 1,000 redundancies tomorrow, according to press reports.

The retailer is due to release sales figures for the crucial Christmas trading period tomorrow and will announce massive job cuts in stores, with hundreds more staff to go from head office and support functions, according to the Times newspaper.

Sales at Marks & Spencer are thought to be down by 8.5 per cent over Christmas, which would compare unfavourably with rivals Next, where sales fell by seven per cent, and Debenhams, where sales fell by 3.3 per cent.

Both Next and Debenhams saw their shares rise sharply on the news, as the declines were not as harsh as feared.

A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer told inthenews.co.uk the group would not comment on press speculation.

Marks & Spencer employs around 75,000 in the UK and abroad. Last year, the group changed its redundancy package sparking an outcry from staff and unions.

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