Marks and Spencer has remained silent on speculation that it is preparing to reveal a slew of job cuts when it releases its trading update tomorrow (7 January).
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When contacted by just-food, the company declined to comment on reports that it is looking to extend its cost-cutting programme in the wake of the economic downturn.
In October, the UK retailer began a cull of staff in its store design, development and property teams. Now, it is expected that the company will announce further layoffs, with as many as 1,000 jobs believed to be on the line.
It has been widely predicted that M&S’s Christmas trading figures will be the worst the bastion of the UK high street has seen in a decade.
The company’s pre-Christmas one-day sales, which were designed to drive volumes, are believed to have hit margins while overall revenue is also expected to fall.
In a note published in December, Seymour Pierce cut its profit outlook for the company by 3.25 pence (US$0.048) per share to 217.5 pence per share, predicting a gloomy trading update.
“This will be the worst Christmas for many years,” Seymour Pierce analyst Freddie George warned in the research note.
“January 2009 is likely to be a re-run of January 2008 with the year beginning with a profits warning from M&S, followed by a decline in the sector and a late recovery towards the end of the month. 2009 will, in our view, be much more of a trading market with some measure of confidence returning during the year,” George cautioned.
