HUNDREDS of jobs are set to be lost as a major high street retailer with a store in York cuts costs.

Fenwick, which was founded in Newcastle in the 1880s but has been a major figure in York since 1984, yesterday announced that 408 jobs would be lost at its bases around the country, following a drop in annual profits.

The department store recently posted a 93 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £2 million following charges on the value of its properties and costs of a restructuring plan, and said the cull would affect management, support and shop floor staff.

A spokeswoman for Fenwick was unable to confirm whether any jobs in the store in Coppergate, York, would be affected, but said the cuts were linked to ongoing problems in the high street.

She said: “Our annual results reflect the challenging market conditions all department store groups are facing, including increased competition from online retail, declining footfall on the high street, and increasingly competitive price discounting - factors that have been exacerbated by a rise in the cost of living that has led to a fall in consumers’ disposable income.

“We have also restructured parts of the business and have made the difficult decision to cut staff numbers across the business, reducing total headcount by 408 to 2,879.”

Fenwick - which saw sales fall by 3.6 per cent in the year to January 26 - is the latest high street name to be affected by financial problems, with House Of Fraser going into administration last month, and profit warnings issued by Debenhams.

However, the Fenwick spokeswoman said the ongoing ‘transformation plan’ was on track to improve its situation.

She said: “The fact that sales fell only slightly last year demonstrates the strength of our local brand, and our product and customer service offer.

“As part of our programme we are investing in IT and other back office systems, in our flagship Newcastle store and in a new e-commerce offer, which will go live in early 2019.”