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Luxury fashion firm Burberry has announced potential plans to cut 1,700 jobs as part of a wider strategy to reduce costs by 2027. The British designer brand, known for its iconic check pattern, reported a £66m loss in the last financial year, prompting the proposed savings which would reduce its global workforce by almost a fifth and include potential redundancies at its Castleford factory in West Yorkshire.
Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman said the majority of job losses would come from its head office teams around the world, but said the cuts would "naturally" be focused in the UK, where most of its staff are based.
He confirmed staff rotas would be reorganised and that night shifts at its factory in Castleford, which makes trench coats priced from £1,000 to £10,000 each, would be scrapped.
"For a long time we have had overcapacity at that facility, and that is simply not sustainable," Mr Schulman said.
Burberry said it would align "schedules with peak store traffic" in its shops, which would result in the reduction of some jobs. It added savings would also come from "operating expenses, with increased efficiency of spend in procurement and real estate".
Burberry was founded in 1856 and has been making its famous raincoats in Yorkshire since 1972.
The designer brand previously announced a £40m cost-savings programme in November, meaning it now plans to create the combined annualised savings of £100m by Spring 2027.
"The continued resilience of our outerwear and scarf categories reaffirms my belief that we have the most opportunity where we have the most authenticity," said Mr Schulman, who was appointed chief executive in July last year.
Mr Schulman replaced former Burberry chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd after the brand saw plunging sales.
Burberry's sales have been struggling amid weaker demand for luxury goods in general, with trading in China and the Americas seeing some of the biggest falls last year.
