Fashion brand Burberry could cut 1,700 jobs as it aims to reduce costs by 2027.
The company announced the proposed savings as it reported its financial results today (14 May), recording a £66 million loss in the past financial year. This was significantly down on the previous year, when it made £383 million in profit.
The proposed redundancies would cut its global workforce by around a fifth, and will potentially impact workers at its Castleford factory in West Yorkshire. It has not yet specified where any shop closures would be.
As part of the cost-cutting exercise, staff rotas will be reorganised and night shifts will be scrapped, according to chief executive Joshua Schulman. Shop staff will be scheduled around peak traffic so they are available at the busiest times, he added.
“We don’t have a store closing programme per se,” he told investors, adding that “significant” investment would be made into its manufacturing facilities to scale up production.
The business will simplify its regional structure, “rebalancing” its central and regional responsibilities to reduce duplication and accelerate decision-making, Schulman explained.
He said the “external environment has become more challenging since mid-February”, hinting that the imposition of tariffs by US president Donald Trump had been more damaging than expected.
A further factor was the 2021 decision to remove VAT refunds for overseas visitors to the UK, which has made it a less competitive destination for shopping.
“Business in our UK home market continues to be seriously impacted,” he added.
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