Burberry to axe up to 1,700 roles as it plunges to full-year loss

Burberry reported a loss during its preliminary full year results, and warned that it would axe 1,700 roles by 2027.

The luxury retailer reported an operating loss of £3m for the 52 weeks ended 29 March, from a £418m profit the year prior. Sales also plunged 17% to £2.5bn year on year over the period.

Retail sales during its final quarter dropped 6% on a like for like basis, while sales across the whole group slumped 12% over the year.

Burberry cautioned that it could cut 1,700 jobs from the company by 2027, as as part of a business-wide cost-cutting drive to bolster the luxury fashion retailer’s turnaround.

The company said it turnaround plan would unlock an additional £60m of savings by FY27 and would bolster its plan of driving £100m in cost-savings per annum.

Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman said: “After a challenging first half, we have moved at pace to implement Burberry Forward, our strategic plan to reignite brand desire, improve our performance and drive long-term value creation.

“Our customers are responding to our timeless British luxury brand expression. With improvement in brand sentiment, we will be ramping up the frequency and reach of our campaigns as our autumn and winter collections arrive in store.”

He added: “The continued resilience of our outerwear and scarf categories reaffirms my belief that we have the most opportunity where we have the most authenticity.

“While we are operating against a difficult macroeconomic backdrop and are still in the early stages of our turnaround, I am more optimistic than ever that Burberry’s best days are ahead and that we will deliver sustainable profitable growth over time.”

The update comes after Burberry kicked off its search for a new chair last month.

The brand is working with headhunters to find a successor to Gerry Murphy, who has chaired the company since 2017, Sky News reported.

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