HIGH street retailer Marks & Spencer has announced another round of store closures.
M&S has released a list of 17 stores earmarked for closure as part of a drastic transformation plan, in a move which will put 1,045 jobs at risk.
Stores in Bolton, Bury, Oldham and Trafford have escaped the cull.
As part of an accelerated store closure programme, M&S is on track to close over 100 stores nationwide.
Of these, 30 have already closed and 25 have been announced including today's list.
The 17 stores set to close are: Ashford, Barrow, Bedford, Boston, Buxton, Cwmbran, Deal, Felixstowe, Huddersfield, Hull, Junction One Antrim Outlet, Luton Arndale, Newark, Northwich, Rotherham, Sutton Coldfield and Weston Super Mare.
M&S said it will enter a period of consultation with affected employees, with the intention of retaining as many as possible.
To date, 1,891 workers have been impacted by the closures but the company said 1,591 of them - over 80% - had been been redeployed to new roles.
Sacha Berendji, retail, operations and property director at Marks & Spencer, said: "We're continuing to transform M& S with pace and as part of this we are making good progress with our plans to close over 100 stores - radically reshaping our store estate to become more relevant for our customers.
"Proposing to close stores is never easy, for our colleagues, customers or the local community, but it is vital for the future of M&S. Where we have closed stores, we are continuing to see an encouraging number of customers choosing other nearby locations and shopping on M&S.com."
In total, the retailer plans to close more than 100 stores as part of its target to generate one third of sales online by 2022.
The 30 stores that have closed to date are:
Andover
Basildon
Birkenhead
Bournemouth
Bridlington
Clacton
Covent Garden
Crewe (relocation)
Darlington
Dover
Durham
Falkirk
Fareham
Fforestfach
Greenock (relocation)
Keighley
Kettering
New Mersey Speke Shopping Park
Newmarket
Newry (relocation)
Northampton
Portsmouth
Putney
Redditch
Slough
Stockport
Stockton
Walsall
Warrington
Wokingham
The 8 stores that have previously been announced as set to close are:
East Kilbride
Edgware Broadwalk
Falmouth
Holloway Road
Kirkcaldy
Llandudno (relocation)
St Helens (relocation)
Wigan (Foodhall opening at Robin Retail Park)
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