AN ESTIMATED 7,000 jobs are being axed at retail giant Marks and Spencer as part of a further shake-up of its stores and management in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

The group said the roles were set to go over the next three months across shops, regional management and its support centre.

The chain has a large store in Western Road as well as a Foodhall site in Carden Avenue, both in Brighton.

Marks and Spencer expects a “significant” number of roles will be cut through voluntary departures and early retirement while it said it will also create some jobs through investing further in online warehousing and its new ambient food warehouse.

The news comes as the store revealed total sales in its hard-hit clothing and home arm plunged 29.9 per cent in the eight weeks since shops reopened, with store sales tumbling 47.9 per cent and online surging by 39.2 per cent.

It said sales declines were improving but that it was “clear that there has been a material shift in trade”.

“While it is too early to predict with precision where a new post-Covid sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change,” it said.

Chief executive Steve Rowe added: “As part of our Never The Same Again programme to embed the positive changes in ways of working through the crisis, we are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures.

“These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs and we are committed to supporting colleagues through this time.”