Coronavirus: Liverpool reverses furlough decision following backlash

Jamie Carragher was among those to criticise Liverpool for furloughing staff, and the club has now reversed that decision.

Published : Apr 06, 2020 23:31 IST

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE.
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE.
lightbox-info

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE.

Liverpool have made a U-turn on their decision to furlough a number of non-playing staff impacted by the Premier League's suspension following a backlash, CEO Peter Moore has confirmed.

The Reds announced of Friday they were following the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle United in taking advantage of the United Kingdom government's job retention scheme, meaning 80 per cent of some staff wages would be paid by the state.

"We believe we came to the wrong conclusion last week to announce that we intended to apply to the Coronavirus Retention Scheme and furlough staff due to the suspension of the Premier League football calendar, and are truly sorry for that," the club's CEO Peter Moore said in an official statement.

"Our intentions were, and still are, to ensure the entire workforce is given as much protection as possible from redundancy and/or loss of earnings during this unprecedented period," the statement said,

"We are therefore committed to finding alternative ways to operate while there are no football matches being played that ensures we are not applying for the government relief scheme."

But that move was widely slammed given the club had less than six weeks previously announced £42million pre-tax profits, with former Liverpool players Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy and Dietmar Hamann among those to publicly lambast the decision.

Following the criticism, Liverpool have opted to seek alternative arrangements.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment