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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| M&S to close stores and cut jobs | M&S to close stores and cut jobs |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Marks and Spencer plans to close 25 of its small Simply Food stores and another two of its normal stores. | Marks and Spencer plans to close 25 of its small Simply Food stores and another two of its normal stores. |
| The closures will mean the loss of 780 jobs. The retailer is also planning to cut 450 head office jobs. | The closures will mean the loss of 780 jobs. The retailer is also planning to cut 450 head office jobs. |
| The announcement came with its Christmas trading statement. In the 13 weeks to 27 December, its UK like-for-like sales fell by 7.1%. | The announcement came with its Christmas trading statement. In the 13 weeks to 27 December, its UK like-for-like sales fell by 7.1%. |
| M&S warned that its margins would be lower this year as a result of discounting, especially in food. | M&S warned that its margins would be lower this year as a result of discounting, especially in food. |
| In the run-up to Christmas, the retailer held two one-off sale days where it cut prices by 20%. M&S said that it had 15% less stock when it began its sale on 27 December than it had the previous year. | |
| Pension cuts | |
| Overall group sales fell by 1.2%, helped by a 26.9% increase in international sales. | |
| In addition to the job cuts, M&S plans to keep its costs under control by capping increases in its staff's pensionable pay to 1% per year, reducing the liabilities of its final salary pension scheme. | |
| "We are aware that the proposed changes set out above will be difficult for those members of staff impacted," said M&S boss Sir Stuart Rose. | |
| "But given that we expect challenging economic conditions to continue for at least the next 12 months we believe we are taking the right action to maintain the strength of our business." |