Manchester United began informing staff that they have lost their jobs just hours after the team’s Europa League final defeat.
According to reports, some of the 200 employees previously at risk of redundancy will be told their fate this week in the second round of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s job cuts.
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Some of the staff at the club’s Carrington training ground were delivered the news on Friday.
The brutal measures come off the back of Wednesday night’s disappointing loss in Bilbao and, for some staff, it will act as a huge double blow.
Chief executive Omar Berrada informed staff in February that redundancies were inevitable as part of the club’s transformation plan to help return Manchester United to a strong financial position, which has already seen 250 job losses over that last 12 months.
It’s said the redundancies so far have saved the club between £8m and £10m.
And now the Daily Mail claim sources close to Manchester United have been surprised that chiefs have implemented the cuts so soon after Wednesday’s defeat, with the club apparently unwilling to waste any time in making savings.
The measures are imposed as United come to terms with the prospect of no European football next season – for only the second time since 1990.
Europa League final success would have banked the club a much-needed £100million windfall through Champions League qualification.
Further cuts could still be on the horizon with morale already low inside Old Trafford ahead of the imminent departures of popular and long-serving staff members.
Among those exits was the club’s long-serving head of team operations, Jackie Kay, who was let go after almost 30 years working at United and whose departure was said to have left many within the club disappointed.
Cost-cutting changes to the canteen have also been made, reducing the options available for non-playing staff to soup and sandwiches.
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Ratcliffe has also slashed funding to the club’s charitable arm, raised ticket prices by £26 and even axed legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson from his long-serving paid ambassadorial role with the club.
United’s financial situation was understood to be in disarray before Wednesday’s defeat to Tottenham with further woe now expected.
As a result of the final, the club’s share price dropped by a whopping £160m, leaving many at the club concerned.
Manchester United has posted net losses of over £370m in the five years up to June 2024 and there are no signs of the tide turning any time soon.
With just domestic honours to play for next season, boss Ruben Amorim will have more time to work with his players in helping change United’s fortunes – something he has wanted since his arrival in November.
“We need more time with the team,” Amorim declared, speaking last week. “We need to arrange a lot of things in Carrington that we need more time to not think game by game by game.
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“And then we have the squad. We proved this year we need to be a better squad if we want to win European games and then be really competitive during the Premier League. It’s going to be tough. So my feeling is that.”
Amorim struggled to hide his devastation following the defeat at the San Mames stadium and in the heat of the moment told reporters he would step aside if the board and the fans wanted him to go.
“I have nothing to show to the fans, so in this moment it is a little bit of faith (that is required),” Amorim said
“Let’s see (on the future). Like I said before, I am always open.
“If the board and fans feel that I am not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit.
“I am really confident on my job and as you see I will not change nothing in the way I do things.”
