BBC: Manchester United starts the second round of 200-man layoffs to not affect the Europa League. Some people only learned after the game

May 23 According to the BBC, Manchester United has launched a second round of layoffs and issued a dismissal notice to some employees of the Carrington training base.

According to insiders, the layoff process involving about 200 positions has lasted for several weeks, and most employees have long known the results of staying and staying. However, BBC Sports learned that in order to ensure that the preparations for the Europa League final against Tottenham were not affected, some employees in positions related to the first team did not know their final fate until after the final.

The Department of Sports Science, Medical Team and Scouting Department are expected to become the hardest hit areas. As the European War ends, employees of the affected department are receiving notifications one after another. People familiar with the matter revealed that the employees were previously told that the job adjustment plan would be postponed. This means that during the process of laying off specific positions, relevant employees will know clearly whether they will remain in office.

After losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final, the morale within the club was already sluggish, and the news of this layoff made the atmosphere worse. Club sources insisted that the layoff schedule has not been adjusted. Before the first round of layoffs last year, Manchester United had about 1,100 employees. The first round of layoffs involved about 250 people, saving the club between 8 million and 10 million pounds of spending. CEO Bellada has predicted earlier this year that a second round of layoffs of 150-200 people will be conducted. The loss of the UEFA Europa League final means that Manchester United missed the European Cup for the second time since 1990, directly causing a funding gap of 100 million pounds. Since acquiring minority stake in February 2024, Ratcliff has implemented a series of severance measures: recalling club ambassadors such as Sir Ferguson to restart their work, closing employee canteens to provide free fruit instead.

According to BBC Sports, several special cars arrived in Bilbao in advance before the game for use by Ratcliff and club executives during their stay in Spain. Despite the defeat, the club held a barbecue party for members of the team and their families at the Carrington Training Base as planned.

However, behind the latest layoff plan is the serious financial reality: Manchester United has accumulated losses of more than 370 million pounds in the past five years. The 2024 financial report shows that it still owes other clubs a final payment of 313 million pounds of transfer fees.