Sir Jim Ratcliffe Gives One-Week Resignation Deadline To Man Utd Staff

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given Manchester United’s non-football employees a week to decide whether or not to stay on staff.

Every non-football employee at Manchester United received an email on Tuesday afternoon inviting resignations in bulk. It seems to be motivated by cost-cutting measures after Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a new minority owner, took over. Employees can choose to stay on at the club until noon on June 5, eight days after receiving the email. According to The Athletic, some view this as more of a “voluntary redundancy” programme than the “voluntary resignation” the club is referring to. According to The Guardian, employees who decide to quit early will receive an early payment of their yearly bonus, which is normally due in September.

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The invitation to resign is a consequence of the recent instruction for all staff to work full-time from the club’s various office sites at Carrington, Old Trafford and in London. The email acknowledged that “a number of colleagues prefer not to commit to this new way of working and are keen to understand their options”. But the offer to leave is also open to those already based onsite full-time. There seems to be a degree of the new INEOS regime preparing a clean slate from which to implement their culture at the club. Ratcliffe had rather coldly told staff with regard to ending the flexible ‘work from home’ policy: “If you don’t like it, please seek alternative employment.” One significant problem that exists is not enough office space to accommodate all current staff.

A spokesperson for the club said: “This isn’t a voluntary redundancy programme. The club recognises that not everyone wants to work from the office full-time so has provided options for staff who don’t wish to return to the office to step away now.”

Manchester United made a Premier League record-breaking £648.4 million in revenue during the 2022–23 season, but nevertheless ended up with a deficit of £42 million ($53.6 million at today’s currency). More than 1,000 people work for the club in a variety of capacities, therefore it is hypothesised that reducing labour expenses will enable them to better adhere to financial regulations and make investments in the playing squad.

Ratcliffe’s influence at United goes far beyond the sporting operations that were anticipated when he purchased his minority stake from the Glazer family in December 2023, but it won’t be known until next week and beyond how many employees actually take up the offer to leave.