Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘is set to recommend job cuts at Man Utd after takeover as he believes club is overstaffed’
SIR JIM RATCLIFFE will reportedly recommend job cuts at Manchester United because he believes the club is overstaffed.
The self-made billionaire is on the brink of completing his £1.25billion investment to purchase 25 per cent of the club in a matter of days.
Part of the partial takeover has seen Ratcliffe conduct a major review at Old Trafford.
SunSport exclusively revealed that the Ineos chief wants to oversee a huge clearout at United – both in the dressing room and upstairs.
Richard Arnold is already on his way out as the hunt for a new CEO continues with Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc and Dougie Freedman in line.
And now the Daily Mail claim due diligence by Ineos has concluded United is overstaffed in multiple departments.
As a result, the report states jobs are at risk as Ratcliffe eyes a culling of staff in order to restructure and improve efficiency.
United’s number of employees has risen from approximately 800 to 1,100 in the last year.
A large part of that is said to be down to bolstering the commercial and digital teams – the former helping to land a whopping £648.4million turnover in October.
But now Ratcliffe is on a cost-cutting mission to make progress.
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Especially because his sport department at Ineos is streamlined.
A relatively small team manages their involvement in football, Formula One, cycling, sailing, rugby and challenges – such as Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59 marathon attempt.
And the Mail report claims Ratcliffe wants a similar approach at United, with fewer people enabling better accountability and clarity.
Moreover, Ineos are set to land a minimum of two seats on the Manchester United board.
Despite only being set to own a quarter of the club, Ratcliffe will help handle football operations and has drafted up plans for a new sporting director and medical department.
That will also give him a huge say in transfers, with the lifelong supporter keen to place a particular emphasis on signing British players.
However, news this week suggested fans cannot expect to see any major additions to the squad in the January transfer window.
And plans for improvements to the infrastructure at Old Trafford are also on hold amid rising material prices.
However, part of Ratcliffe’s investment includes £250m dedicated to updating the crumbling and leaking stadium – although that money is now unlikely to cover the cost of rebuilding one stand.
SunSport has contacted Manchester United and Ineos for comment.
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