Manchester United are reportedly planning to dismiss one hugely popular member of staff as part of the ongoing restructuring at the club by Ineos.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Tuesday how Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning to continue cost-cutting measures at Old Trafford, with more than 100 staff set to be made redundant.
This comes after the club culled around 250 staff last year, while several other money-saving measures have been implemented in recent times.
This included cancelling free coach travel for staff to last year’s FA Cup final, cutting back on ambassadorial salaries, increasing ticket prices, while Ratcliffe also decided to bring to an end Sir Alex Ferguson’s £2million-a-year role with the club.
And, according to The Times, United have now decided to dismiss the long-serving Jackie Kay, who has worked at the club since 1995.
Kay’s impending departure was described as ‘brutal’, with the popular staff member head of team operations having previously served as former CEO David Gill’s executive assistant. She also spent a period in charge of first team logistics at the club’s Carrington training ground.
Manchester United are reportedly planning to dismiss one hugely popular member of staff
It comes amid the ongoing restructure from INEOS as they look to significantly cut costs
Jackie Kay (left, in 2023) is reportedly set to depart the club after nearly 30 years of service
The report goes onto claim that both United’s players and a succession of managers were huge fans of Kay, who was labelled as the ‘oil in the machine’ at the club.
It is said that Kay was informed of her departure last week, with her exit coming as part of a wider performance overhaul under Sir Dave Brailsford and Jason Wilcox, although it is not believed to be linked to the latest redundancies.
Staff were believed to be ‘upset’ at the news, with many highlighting how Kay had ‘given her life to the club’.
Former United star Ashley Young has previously paid tribute to Kay, claiming she is the unsung hero at United’s training ground.
‘She’s just brilliant,’ he said. ‘She’s like the mum to everyone. If there are any problems or there is anything we need sorting out it’s a case of “Jackie can you do this”, “Jackie can you help with this”.
‘I’m sure there are times when she looks at her phone when it’s ringing and she must think “no, I’m not answering”. But she’s always there for you.’
The latest cuts come with Ineos’ review into the club ongoing. United had 1,112 staff before Ratcliffe took a quarter stake in the club early last year, which was by far the largest in the Premier League and considerably higher than the rest of the big six. Manchester City, for example, employed 520 during the same time period.
The move is aimed at freeing up cash for Ruben Amorim to spend on the first team as they seek to return the club to its former glories. Despite record revenues, United have lost £300m in the past three years.
Former United star Ashley Young previously hailed ‘unsung hero’ Kay for all the work she did
Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting is about giving Ruben Amorim more money to spend on his first team
Sir Alex Ferguson saw his £2million-a-year ambassadorial role ended by the British billionaire
The perception is that on and off field costs remain high. Ratcliffe has injected around £241m, which is aiding with the development of Carrington, but there are fundamental issues within Old Trafford which need to be addressed.
The club are also considering moving to a new 100,000-capacity stadium or carrying out a large-scale refurbishment of Old Trafford – and will need to find the funds to do so.
Staff are not thought to have been made aware of the latest redundancy proposals. The news is expected to be broken to them formally at some point in the near future. No final numbers are thought to have been decided on.
All areas of the business have been targeted for potential savings. The aim is to make the business leaner and to ensure all focus is placed on providing Amorim with the funds needed to strengthen.
United’s compliance with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) is also at the forefront of thinking.
