Type
Closure
Country
United Kingdom
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Stevenage, Wood Green, Castle Bromwich, Shirley, Walsall, Aldershot, Pontypridd, Hounslow and North Shields
Sector
Retail
Retail Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles
Retail Sale In Non-Specialised Stores
47.11 - Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating

430 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
29 July 2015
Employment effect (start)
31 July 2015
Foreseen end date

Description

UK supermarket chain Marks & Spencer will close nine stores across the UK resulting in the loss of 430 jobs. Three of the stores marked for closure are traditional food and clothing outlets located in Stevenage, Wood Green in North London and in Castle Bromwich near Birmingham. A Simply Food outlet located in Shirley, also near Birmingham is among the sites being closed. The outlet five stores that sell end-of-season clothing are located in Walsall, Aldershot, Pontypridd in Wales, Hounslow in west London and North Shields.

The closures are reportedly the result of Marks & Spencer plans to modernise stores as consumers shift to online shopping. The company has said that the 430 affected workers will be offered jobs at other stores located nearby. Prior to this announcement, Marks & Spencer had 852 stores in the United Kingdom including 302 traditional clothing and food stores, 46 outlet stores and 504 Simply Food stores.


Sources

  • 29 July 2015: The Guardian

Citation

Eurofound (2015), Marks & Spencer, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 84337, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/84337.