Some Manchester United employees learned of the club’s plans for another wave of redundancies while attending the wake after Denis Law’s funeral, according to reports. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to have sanctioned a new round of cuts after around 250 staff members lost their jobs last year as part of a ruthless cost-slashing process.
The Guardian claim that Ratcliffe feels he has no choice but to oversee more axes, which could total up to another 200, to help United avoid going bust.
He is said to have confidence that doing so will set the club on a path to becoming profitable and competitive by 2027 after recording losses of £300million across the past three years.
However, fresh reports claim that part of United’s workforce found out about the upcoming push for further departures in a far-from-ideal setting.
According to Mail Sport, some employees were made aware of the plans at Old Trafford following the emotional funeral to bid farewell to Law earlier in the day.
The club’s stadium hosted a wake after the memorial service at Manchester Cathedral to celebrate the life of one of United’s greatest icons.
Law passed away at the age of 84 on January 17 after being diagnosed with dementia in 2021.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy were among the star-studded attendees to join Law’s friends and family.
United chief executive Omar Berrada and chief operating officer Collette Roche represented the club’s hierarchy at Manchester Cathedral.
However, the report adds that there wasn’t a senior presence at the wake at Old Trafford, where vulnerable employees discovered the worrying news of more job cuts on the horizon.
It’s also claimed that those responsible for organising the wake were among the workers made redundant as part of the mass axes last summer and autumn.
Manchester United were approached for comment.
An all-staff meeting has reportedly been scheduled for 2.30pm on Monday, with morale said to be at an all-time low.
Ratcliffe has enforced other unpopular changes, including raising the price of unsold tickets for the rest of the season to £66 and removing concessions.
United have also ended Ferguson’s ambassadorial role, for which he was paid around £2m annually. Other club legends like Bryan Robson and Andy Coles are set to have their salaries decreased.
Administrative staff who survived last year’s redundancies reportedly lost their £100 Christmas bonus, instead receiving a £40 Marks and Spencer gift card.
