Marks and Spencer planning to cut 950 jobs

Marks and Spencer has today announced it will be axing 950 jobs as part of a major restructuring of its store management and head office operations.

M&S said it had started collective consultation with employee representatives and had set out plans to offer voluntary redundancy first to affected staff.

The chain said the proposed changes would affect 950 roles across central support functions in field and central operations and property and store management and has now started collective consultation with its employee representative group and has set out its intention to first offer voluntary redundancy to affected colleagues.

Sacha Berendji, Director of Retail, Operations and Property at M&S said: "Our proposals reflect an important next step in our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and become a stronger, leaner and more resilient business.

"Through the crisis we have seen how we can work faster and more flexibly by empowering store teams and it's essential that we embed that way of working.

"Our priority now is to support all those affected through the consultation process and beyond.”