The FTSE 100 company is planning to cull 15 per cent of its staff at its head office in central London.
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M&S said it would engage in collective consultation with its employees about the changes via elected employee representatives on its Business Involvement Group.
Reports also suggest that contractors will be the hardest hit when the job cuts happen at M&S’ Paddington-based headquarters in London.
It is consulting staff reps on the plans, which should save the chain 1% of total United Kingdom costs, although costs this year are still expected to rise by 3.5%.
M&S employs over 71,000 people in the United Kingdom, of which 3,500 are now in its seven United Kingdom head offices.
Long Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, M&S has seen its market share eroded by rivals like Next and a push from supermarkets into clothing, while younger shoppers favour Primark and H&M’s cheaper prices.
Separately, the retailer announced on Friday that workers would receive a 14.7% pay rise after staff protested against plans by Mr Rowe to change the company’s pay and pension scheme.
“M&S faces structural issues in its clothing and home business from its over-sized, inflexible store estate”.
News of the impending job cuts will come as Steve Rowe, who replaced Marc Bolland as M&S’s chief executive earlier this year, faces pressure to demonstrate to shareholders how he can transform the fortunes of the UK’s best-known retailing brand.
He is now looking at the company’s worldwide operations and store portfolio and is expected to announce a scaling back of the overseas business at M&S’s half-year update in November.
“M&S has to become a simpler and more effective organisation if we are to deliver our plans to recover and grow our business”, Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe said in the statement.
“We would never comment on rumour and speculation and have nothing further to add”.
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Shares in M&S, down 29 per cent over the past year, were down 0.7 percent at 352 pence in London earlier.
