Burberry is set to cut up to 1,700 jobs — nearly 18% of its global workforce — as part of a sweeping cost-saving plan aimed at stabilising the business after a sharp downturn in the global luxury market pushed it into a pre-tax loss of £66 million.
The iconic British fashion house announced the measures on Wednesday, with the majority of cuts expected to come from head office functions, particularly in London, over the next two years. Additional reductions will come from operational changes at its Castleford factory in West Yorkshire, where the night shift will be scrapped and staff rotas reorganised.
The move is part of a cost-cutting strategy led by new chief executive Joshua Schulman, who joined in July with a mandate to turn the company around. The plan aims to deliver £60 million in new savings, bringing total annualised savings to £100 million by the end of 2027.
Despite the scale of the cuts, Schulman — a luxury industry veteran with past roles at Jimmy Choo and Coach — maintained a confident tone. “I’m more optimistic than ever that Burberry’s best days are ahead,” he said, though he acknowledged the increasingly uncertain macroeconomic environment, driven in part by geopolitical instability.
Investors appeared reassured, with shares in the FTSE 250 company rising 8.1% to 894p in morning trading.
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