M&S office switch puts jobs at risk

Marks & Spencer’s marketing department could to be hit by more than 30 redundancies as the troubled retailer is expected to scale back on head office staff when it moves offices later this year.

Its new head office in Paddington is understood to have space for only 2,000 staff, but the retailer employs about 3,000 people at Baker Street. This has led to speculation that between 300 to 500 head-office personnel could be made redundant, with the balance being found alternative office space.

If redundancies are made across the board, the marketing department, which contains about 200 people, could lose up to 33 staff.

A Marks & Spencer spokeswoman declined to comment on the possible redundancies.

The retailer began a mid-season sale this week, marking selected clothing lines down by up to 50 per cent. The sale is not expected to affect trading figures for the last quarter, which ended on March 27.