Marks & Spencer has earmarked two Scottish stores for closure, as the retailer looks to close 100 outlets across the UK by 2022.

The firm has proposed to close its branches in The Plaza, East Kilbride and the High Street in Falkirk, as part of the latest tranche of store closures.

The branches are among nine proposed for closure around the UK, with 626 employees affected.

There are 67 staff working in the East Kilbride branch and 90 in Falkirk.

It is the latest blow for high street retailing and comes after Mothercare confirmed 50 store closures earlier this month and Maplin entered administration in February.

M&S says the closures are part of a plan take a third of its sales online, which will see more than 100 stores close by 2022.

The company says a period of consultation in relation to the nine stores will begin.

The Usdaw union, which represents shop workers, called for management to engage with their representatives.

David Gill, a national officer for the Usdaw, said: "This salami slicing approach to reorganising the business is extremely distressing for the staff.

"Usdaw has thousands of members working for Marks and Spencer and the staff now need, more than ever, the representation and support of an independent trade union.

"We again urge M&S management to abandon their long-held resistance to recognising Usdaw as the union to represent its staff."

He continued: "It is simply unfair that they continue to refuse their staff access to Usdaw, having made the decision on their behalf not to engage with a trade union.

"At this time of great uncertainty, staff need to be assured that an experienced and knowledgeable trade union is interrogating the company's business case for this store reorganisation.

"Given the opportunity Usdaw would ensure that all avenues to save jobs are explored and staff are treated with dignity, fairness and respect."

Sacha Berendji, a director at Marks & Spencer, said: "We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans.

"Closing stores isn't easy but it is vital for the future of M&S.

"Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we're continuing to transform our estate with pace."