FASHION RETAIL NEWS UK
Luxury brand Burberry is expected to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a cost cutting exercise.
According to The Telegraph, employees were informed of the news in a Zoom meeting in late June, with affected workers being told that they either faced redundancy or would need to re-apply for their roles.
Burberry has already begun a 45 day consultation which could mean that hundreds of jobs could be cut. The job losses are expected to come largely from the company’s UK offices.
The Telegraph reported that Burberry has refused to say how many workers will be affected, although employees fear there could be as many as 400 jobs at risk. It is understood that union officials are co-ordinating redundancy settlements with some employees.
Burberry has seen a sharp drop in its stock market value since the beginning of the year as it continues to implement a turnaround plan.
In May, the company announced that its chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd would not receive a bonus for its latest financial year after the luxury brand underperformed against expectations.
In the 52 weeks to 30 March, pre-tax profit fell to £383 million from £634 million in the previous year while revenue dropped to £2.968 billion from a prior £3.094 billion.
At the time, Akeroyd said: “Executing our plan against a backdrop of slowing luxury demand has been challenging. While our FY24 financial results underperformed our original expectations, we have made good progress refocusing our brand image, evolving our product and strengthening distribution while delivering operational improvements.”