Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is continuing his cost-cutting measures at the club, with up to 200 jobs at risk and perks being slashed - and some United fans in the Manchester Evening News comments section think that there should be a fightback, whether it comes from inside or outside of the club.
150 to 200 jobs could be cut in the coming months, according to a club statement, adding to a swathe of 250 who were made redundant in 2024. Ratcliffe and Ineos say that review of the club structure last year found that United had the highest employee count in the Premier League, and that cuts were necessary in a period where the club has faced huge losses each year.
Perks and benefits that staff were previously given by the club have been slashed too, starting back in the FA Cup final last year, when staff were made to pay for their own travel to Wembley. Free lunch options are being cut, in a move that the club expect to save £1 million.
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Some fans say that Ratcliffe risks squandering any good will he gained from taking over as the public face of the club from the Glazer family, and that this will only deepen the malaise at United. Reader Lykesang says: “Does anyone know how much is being paid to the 'mismanagement' team, including Ratcliffe? It sounds like local government, keeping all the chiefs and firing the workers.”
Commenter Redsteve71 writes: “When it comes to cost cutting, start at the top. Omar Berrada is on £4 million a year. Reduce his salary to £3 million and when United returns to being in a much healthier position financially, compensate him for what he lost.
"Do a due diligence on playing staff before offering them the world and more, while they sit on the sidelines for months on end due to constantly being injured. There’s many ways to save money, but by doing it by making ordinary workers redundant, those who potentially could lose their homes as they can no longer afford their mortgage, is simply just wrong.”
JB says: “Save a million quid? What effect is THAT going to have on United's finances? Just 3 weeks' wages for the likes of Rashford. The good will lost by these cuts can't be measured on a finance sheet - might avoid relegation, but who knows what happens next.”
Stockportlad thinks that there should be a fightback: “All staff need to go on strike.”
Jasper JH writes: “I can't think of anything Jim Ratcliffe has done right since he came to the club. One disaster after another. I'm dreading what he does next because he is way out of his depth and doesn't have much footballing knowledge in the people he has put in place around him. We are a long way from knocking City and Liverpool off their perch.”
Other readers agree with the club's reasoning, like Jaychar: “Which other company, in these days, gives staff free lunches, travel and accommodation? We are in 2025, and not the 80s or 90s. These perks are of the past. Staff should be grateful it lasted this long.”
Sirgreenmantle writes: “The club had become bloated and complacent with incompetent people put and left in charge by the absentee owners. A reckoning was coming and Ineos, despite some high profile errors, is at least trying to rebuild and end the drift towards permanent mediocrity.”
Steve The Soundman agrees: “These people just have. No idea about how business work. You can't throw money at a loss making institution.”
Have your say! Have you changed your mind about Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Ineos takeover since last year? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
