Manchester United are planning to make more than 100 members of staff redundant in another mass cull which club executives have described as “necessary”, according to a report.
Ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS took sporting control of the club following a £1.2bn investment in December 2023, economic restraints have been widespread.
Everything from free cereal bars for stewards to charity donations have been cut. Not to mention the redundancies dished out to 250 non-playing members of staff last summer.
United have admitted that they are at risk of breaching the Premier League’s strict financial regulations if they do not raise sufficient funds, and are now embarking upon another extreme money-saving scheme according to The Athletic.
The 100-plus employees at risk of losing their jobs were not informed before the report revealing their impending exit was released.
These dismissals will be spread across the entire club and are expected to heavily impact the members of staff working in the sporting arm of the institution.
The previous round of sackings, known as the “employee redundancy program”, supposedly saved United between £40-45m – although cost around £10m to implement.
Six months after that cycle was officially concluded, The Athletic claim that these new restructuring guidelines are partly a result of the men’s team’s struggles on the pitch.
Failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League saw United miss out on the enormous sums afforded to those in Europe’s elite club competition.
While the Red Devils earned around £18.9m across the league phase of the Europa League, the Premier League clubs involved in the continent’s top tournament took home between £60-80m.
As they are slumped in 13th place in this season’s table, qualifying for next campaign’s competition rests on winning the Europa League.
United also stand to have their lucrative sponsorship agreement with kit provider adidas reduced by around £8m for every year they miss out on the Champions League.
Ratcliffe is no stranger to scathing cost-cutting measures. The British billionaire’s company INEOS face legal action from New Zealand Rugby after missing a payment deadline – which they blamed on “the deindustrialisation of Europe”.
What we know
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe has overseen extensive cost-cutting measures at Man Utd
- Around 250 members of non-playing staff lost their job last summer
- More redundancies are planned this year.