Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making another round of redundancies at Manchester United but the sharp drop in staff is at odds with European rivals who are adding to their workforce.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe is slashing the workforce at Manchester United when their rivals are taking on more staff than ever before
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's approach to slashing the workforce at Manchester United is in sharp contrast to the general trend in European football, with clubs taking on more staff than ever before, according to a new UEFA report.
Ineos completed a round of 250 redundancies last summer and recently signalled their intention to make another 150 to 200 staff redundant as Ratcliffe tries to bring costs under control at Old Trafford.
But UEFA's Club Finance and Investment Landscape review shows big clubs are now employing more staff than ever before, putting the increase down to the importance of generating commercial revenue, which is a key part of United's business plan.
“The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees at top-division clubs increased 6% in 2023 to just under 90,000,” the report said. “A further 6% FTE increase in 2024 means that clubs now have 33% more FTEs than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
“Given that the core activity (number of matches played) did not change between 2019 and 2023, this FTE increase highlights the increasing importance of commercial revenue generation, where servicing partnerships, promoting events and connecting to supporters is resource heavy and costly, in direct contrast to TV or UEFA revenue, which require minimal FTEs directly at the clubs.
“The second factor is the increased investment of clubs in recruitment and technical development.”
The report showed United had 1,140 FTE employees in 2024, although that only placed them fifth in Europe, behind Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Real Madrid.
Interestingly, Brighton were next on the list with 1,051 FTE employees, while Liverpool and Manchester City were also amongst the nine clubs to employ more than 1,000 staff.
With Ineos set to reduce United's workforce by as many as 450 roles, they will fall down this chart when it is updated for 2025. A reduction of 450 would leave them with 690 employees, which would put them 18th in Europe, just behind Lyon and Eintracht Frankfurt.
United announced the latest round of redundancies last month, with chief executive Omar Berrada saying the club had no option but to act after five successive years of financial losses.
“We have a responsibility to put Manchester United in the strongest position to win across our men’s, women’s and academy teams," he said.
"We are initiating a wide-ranging series of measures which will transform and renew the club. Unfortunately, this means announcing further potential redundancies and we deeply regret the impact on those affected colleagues. However, these hard choices are necessary to put the club back on a stable financial footing.
“We have lost money for the past five consecutive years. This cannot continue. Our two main priorities as a club are delivering success on the pitch for our fans and improving our facilities. We cannot invest in these objectives if we are continuously losing money.
“At the end of this process, we will have a more lean, agile and financially sustainable football club, while continuing to provide a world class service to our valuable commercial partners. We will then be in a much stronger position to invest in football success and improved facilities for fans, while remaining compliant with UEFA and Premier League regulations.”