Luxury department store Harrods is poised to make hundreds of redundancies, blaming the coronavirus pandemic for stifling sales and driving down tourism.

In an email circulated to Harrods staff yesterday, chief executive Michael Ward said that 680 jobs would likely be cut in “parts of the business that have been most affected by the challenges of lockdown”.

Harrods currently employs 4,800 staff and put the job losses down to the “ongoing impacts of the pandemic”, namely social distancing guidelines and a lack of tourists travelling to the UK.

“The necessary social distancing requirements to protect employees and customers is having a huge impact on our ability to trade, while the devastation in international travel has meant we have lost key customers coming to our store and frontline operations,” Ward said.

He added: “I am sorry to say that after exploring every option available, we now recognise that we need to make changes to our operational structure.”

Jobs in parts of the store that remain closed, including beauty services and cafes, are expected to be among those to go.

The revelation that Harrods will be cutting staff follows several other high street retailers and operators making similar announcements over the last few days.

Today, John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White warned staff about store closures and job cuts due to the pandemic and also said the retailer’s annual bonus would likely be axed next year for the first time since 1953.

Sir Philip Green’s embattled fashion group Arcadia also informed staff today that 500 head office jobs would be axed in the coming weeks.