M&S denies reports of head office job cuts

Marks and Spencer has dismissed a recent report by The Sunday Times stating that the retailer is looking to dismiss staff at its headquarters as part of chairman Archie Norman’s reforms. 

A spokesperson from M&S said: “It is simply inaccurate that hundreds of roles are being cut. As previously reported in October, we have said the lease on our London office ends in 2028 and that is a sensible time to think about the amount of space we have in London vs elsewhere.”

The Sunday Times’ coverage stated that M&S is looking to reduce teams across its 4,000-person head office as part of a cost-cutting initiative, before the retailer said reports were “simply inaccurate”. 

However, the retailer recently revealed that in the 13 weeks to December 31, like-for-like sales were up by 8.6% on clothing and by 6.3% on food. This resulted in an interim pre-tax profit of £205.5m. 

Though the company is currently doing better after years on a downward trend, recent speculations of job cuts come as in 2020 it cut 7,000 roles across operations – 950 of which were in head office.  

Nonetheless, M&S’ lease at its London headquarters will be expiring in 2028 and a renewal is yet undecided.