Burberry said to be preparing to cut jobs amid falling profits

British luxury brand Burberry is reportedly preparing to scrap hundreds of jobs amid an alleged restructuring programme reacting to a drop in profits.

It is believed that the label has lost a third of its stock market value since the beginning of 2024, putting it at risk of being taken off the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100, according to The Telegraph.

The media outlet said that cost-cutting measures had thus been revealed to employees over a Zoom meeting earlier in June, yet the exact number of staff members affected is currently unclear.

The company is said to have begun a 45-day consultation, during which those impacted, most residing in Burberry’s UK-based headquarters, are to be informed that they are either at risk of redundancy or would be required to reapply.

In May, Burberry reported yet another drop in profit, this time for the first quarter of the year, in which sales decreased by 12 percent while operating profit for FY24 fell 25 percent CER.

At the time, Jonathan Akeroyd, Burberry’s chief executive officer, said that the execution of its turnaround plan –largely dedicated to refocusing the brand’s image, evolving its product and strengthening distribution– had taken place “against a backdrop of slowing luxury demand”.

Despite this, Akeroyd said the company had made good progress, despite anticipating a “challenging” H1 for the year ahead.