The British chain Marks & Spencer intends to lay off 7,000 people in the next three months – almost a tenth of all employees of the company. As explained in the press release, the pandemic has shown that there has been a significant shift in trade.
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Marks & Spencer said overall sales of clothing and home furnishings fell 29.9 percent in the eight weeks of reopening stores after easing epidemic restrictions. Sales in stores fell by 47.9%, and online increased by 39.2%. However, in the last 13 weeks, food sales increased by 2.5%.
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Change in trade
“It is clear that there has been a significant shift in trade, and while it is too early to predict precisely what the new post-COVID-19 sales mix will look like, we must act now to adapt to this shift,” the company said in a statement. As it added, the epidemic showed that it is possible to work in stores more flexibly and productively, with more multitasking workers and moving between food, clothing and home furnishing departments.
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M&S hoped that the vast majority of reductions would come in the form of voluntary departures and early retirement. It is predicted that the reductions will mainly affect the regular store employees. In July, the company already announced that 950 managerial and store manager positions are also at risk of liquidation.
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Marks & Spencer has over 950 stores in the UK, almost two-thirds of which sell only food. The company employs 78 thousand. people, the vast majority in Great Britain.
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