Burberry to Slash 1700 Jobs Amid £66M Loss

The British design giant Burberry revealed intentions to lay off 1,700 workers, or about one-fifth of its global staff. The action is a significant cost-cutting measure to improve the operation of the business.

The layoffs are a part of a larger restructuring led by CEO Joshua Schulman, who joined the company last year with the goal of turning around Burberry's years of poor performance.

Due to overproduction, a night shift at the company's Castleford trench coat plant in England will be eliminated, and the majority of the job losses will impact office-based positions. "All brand metrics have shown a significant improvement in the second half compared to the first half," Shulman said in a media report.

Going Back to Old School

Following past blunders like aggressive pricing and ambiguous brand positioning, the former Jimmy Choo CEO has shifted Burberry's emphasis back to its heritage staples, especially trench coats and scarves.

Additionally, he has placed his hopes in designer Daniel Lee and leather accessories, which have a higher margin. Marco Gobbetti and designer Riccardo Tisci led the business from 2017 until 2021.

They attempted to position the group as a high-end luxury fashion brand, but their efforts were not very successful financially. Schulman is the brand's fourth CEO in ten years, having succeeded Jonathan Akeroyd.

Financial Outlook of Burberry

Burberry barely avoided a loss for the fiscal year that ended on March 29, 2025, with an adjusted operating profit of £26 million, significantly higher than the £11 million that analysts had predicted.

The general decline in the premium sector is still a worry, though. The fourth quarter saw a 6% decline in comparable sales, which was marginally better than the 7% decline that analysts had predicted.

According to region-by-region analysis, sales in America, Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa all decreased by 4% from the previous year. Sales in the Asia Pacific region also fell by 9%. Schulman acknowledged that there had been indications of a softening of consumer behaviour, particularly in the United States.

"The US customer was maintaining their momentum as we entered Q4, but as we moved into February, especially in the US market, things became a little choppy," he stated.

 Currently, 19% of Burberry's customers are from the US. The business noted "geopolitical developments" as a contributing reason to economic uncertainty, but it made no comments regarding the possible effects of US tariffs. For the fiscal year 2026, no specific budgetary goals were established.