Uncertain future for 100 workers in M&S distribution shake-up

The retailer is to use two adjacent warehouses at Sheffield International Rail Freight Terminal off the M1 as it moves its furniture and store equipment operations from the current base near the M606 in Bradford.

The changes will bring jobs to Sheffield but will affect around a third of the workforce in Bradford.

A spokesman for Wincanton, the company which runs the Bradford base, said: “We have a total of 301 employees working at the distribution centre and just over a third of them are affected by M&S’s proposal.

“We are currently in consultation with the affected employees and as part of the consultation process we are offering a number of different options with the aim of avoiding redundancies.

“These options include alternative roles at the Bradford site and a move to the new distribution centre in Sheffield with additional support from Wincanton.”

A spokesperson for M&S said: “We are proposing to make changes at our distribution centre in Bradford to prepare the site for its next stage of development.

“The plan is to make it a regional distribution centre for our clothing and home products and to make this happen we need to install new equipment and systems.

“As a result we plan to move the furniture and store equipment operations to a distribution centre at the Sheffield International Rail Freight Terminal.”

Sheffield Council leader Coun Julie Dore said: “This is just another example of confidence in Sheffield.”