Marks & Spencer is trimming its corporate headcount.
The British retailer notified staff Monday about upcoming changes, following a detailed evaluation of its operations, that will cut 525 jobs across its seven U.K. head offices—about 260 are permanent roles and the remainder are contractors—and 400 IT and logistics jobs at its central London offices. The company’s 71,000-plus store and customer service employees will not be affected by the decision.
The proposals reflect Marks & Spencer’s goals of redefining its greater market strategy and simplifying its operations after a company-wide review determined it had become too inefficient as a result of unnecessary spending and complicated processes. To improve its industry reputation, the company developed these business ideas to cut costs and work more efficiently. However, Marks & Spencer projected that its annual operating cost savings would be only about 1 percent of the U.K. cost base. Cost growth guidance for 2016 would also stay at 3.5%, regardless of corporate changes.
“Marks & Spencer has to become a simpler and more effective organization if we are to deliver our plans to recover and grow our business,” said chief executive officer Steve Rowe. “It is never easy to propose changes that impact our people, but I believe that the proposals outlined today are absolutely necessary and will help us build a different type of Marks & Spencer—one that can take bolder, pacier decisions, be more profitable and ultimately better serve our customers.”