Burberry boss paid almost £2.6m amid company-wide job cuts

Burberry paid new chief executive Joshua Schulman almost £2.6m in his first nine months at the helm, despite the business cutting hundreds of jobs to trim costs.

Schulman could earn up to £5.6m this year if he meets bonus targets and another £3.6m if he doubles the British luxury brand’s share price in three years, according to the group’s annual report.

He is in line to receive £25,000 a month “housing allowance” for just over a year, on top of the £135,171 to help him find a new home, and £120,655 towards moving from New York.

Schulman, who joined Burberry in July last year, was given a £1.2m bonus on top of his £1.36m in fixed salary, which included the moving allowances.

The brand paid its former boss Jonathan Akeroyd about £1.5m, consisting of a year’s notice, salary, pension and cash benefits after he left the company in July last year.

The bumper pay packets to directors come despite Burberry announcing plans to cut 1,700 jobs worldwide by 2027, including removing the entire night shift of 170 people at its Yorkshire raincoat factory.

The retailer’s cost-cutting strategy was unveiled when it revealed that it had swung to an annual loss of £66m, from a profit of £383m a year before, due to a slowdown in the luxury goods market.

Burberry’s directors said in the annual report that they had consulted shareholders about the level of Schulman’s pay.

“The majority of shareholders appreciated the circumstances of Josh’s recruitment and were supportive of the design of Josh’s ongoing remuneration arrangements, the approach to his annual bonus for [the last year] and his recruitment award,” they said.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter