M&S to cut 7,000 jobs due to coronavirus impact

In the next three months, 7,000 jobs will be cut in Marks & Spencer's stores.

M&S has said that they hope the cut to a tenth of their workforce will mostly include voluntary redundancies and early retirements.

The impact of COVID-19 had reduced the number of sales for clothes and home goods within the stores compared to 2019. Moreover, the shop said that there had been a "material shift in trade" due to the global pandemic.

Since shops have reopened, M&S's total sales in clothing and home departments dropped 29.9% in eight weeks. In-store purchases reduced by 47.9%, while online sales increased by 39.2%.

Last month, the British retailer came forward, saying that over 950 positions within its head office and store management sectors were at risk due to restructuring.

Experts, as well as retailers, have noted that the global pandemic may have changed the way people shop, not only in the meantime but also in the future.

Such a change could mean that many more retailers will be announcing further cuts and setbacks to their businesses.

Most shoppers remain in a survival mindset, hanging onto the necessities within their shopping and saving and storing money in the process.