UK's Marks and Spencer to sack 1,000 employees
6 Jan 2009, 1338 Hrs

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London, Jan.6 UK fashion retailer Marks and Spencer will announce the sacking of 1,000 employees tomorrow after experiencing dire Christmas trading.

Several hundred more from the head office and support functions are also to be sacked. Debenhams and Next are also expected today to unveil their worst Christmas performances in recent history.

The fashion chains Principles, Oasis, Karen Millen and Warehouse - all owned by Mosaic - have had an emergency restructuring team sent in from Deloitte.

According to The Times, these stores employ about 5,000 staff whose jobs will be at risk unless a new lender is found to refinance the business. Waterford Wedgwood, the china and glassware company, went into receivership yesterday, threatening nearly 2,000 British jobs.

Adams, which went into administration after Christmas, shed another 850 staff by closing all 111 children's clothing shops and Passion for Perfume, a chain of 46 stores, collapsed with the loss of all 185 staff.

The last 197 Wool-worth stores will close today, taking its total losses to 27,000, while

Monsoon Accessorize is facing a revolt from suppliers after it asked manufacturers to cut prices by 5 per cent.

Sales over Christmas at Marks and Spencer are thought to have fallen by 8.5 per cent once new stores are taken out of the equation. M and S, which last year made workers' redundancy packages less generous, has cut investment recently to reduce its three billion pound debt. Unemployment is now rising at a faster rate than during the 1990s recession. This week's job news will pile more pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates on Thursday from two per cent to a 314-year record low. (ANI)