Up to 200 members of Manchester United staff have been told their jobs are at risk as Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans another round of cuts, according to reports.
INEOS founder and chairman Ratcliffe took control of football operations at Old Trafford following his 25 per cent takeover – believed to be worth around £1.3billion – in December 2023.
After failing to buy Chelsea in 2022, the British billionaire’s purchase was officially completed last February.
Ratcliffe impressed Manchester United fans with a series of high-profile boardroom appointments, poaching CEO Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City and bringing in his right-hand men Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc.
Jason Wilcox soon followed as a technical director and after a gruelling pursuit, Dan Ashworth was brought in from Newcastle United as his sporting director.
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Results barely improved on the pitch under Erik ten Hag, though the Red Devils did win the FA Cup in 2024, beating Man City in the final.
The cup triumph managed to keep Ten Hag in the job despite Ratcliffe speaking to other managers last summer, including Thomas Tuchel.
Ten Hag was sacked in October and replaced by Ruben Amorim – a move that cost United an estimated £21.4million.
The process was widely viewed as a shambles and marked one of the first major red flags under Ratcliffe’s co-ownership.
Ratcliffe has continued to face criticism for his controversial job cuts, which he defending during a March interview with United legend Gary Neville, claiming they were essential to prevent the club from going “bust”.
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Unsurprisingly, Sir Jim is back at it and planning another round of job cuts, which could ‘affect very senior Manchester United employees’.
This is according to the Daily Mail, where it is claimed 200 members of staff have been told they are ‘in danger of being axed’.
There is ‘management staff – including one recently promoted to the senior leadership team’ that ‘learned their fate last week’, with others being told ‘in the last 48 hours that they are at risk’.
Furthermore, an employee who has been serving the club for ‘decades’ and is ‘well-respected across the industry and brings huge value and experience’ is ‘set to lose their job’.
Ratcliffe’s latest ‘savage’ job cuts which heavily involve ‘established members of staff’ are threatening to ‘tear the heart and soul out of the club’, insiders say.
There has already been around 450 employees lose their job since INEOS took charge, which accounts for over a third of the original workforce.
The report adds that the scouting department is being ‘hit particularly hard’, with director of scouting Steve Brown leaving after nine years at the club.
The Jim Reaper strikes again.
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