Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priority has been the safety and wellbeing of our employees, our customers and our communities. While we continue to take mitigating actions to contain our costs and protect our financial position, we are also committed to safeguarding jobs and supporting the relief efforts during this global health emergency. I would like to thank our teams for their continued determination and resilience as we continue Thomas Burberry’s legacy of protecting others and caring for the community.” – Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer
While Burberry continue to look hard at its cost base, reducing spend on non-essential areas, it has
decided to take the following additional steps to support its priorities over the next few months:
1. It will continue to maintain base pay for all employees who are unable to fulfil their roles
because of store or site closures.
2. It will not rely on government support for jobs in the UK where more than a third of its
employees are based.
3. Its senior leaders will take a voluntary 20% pay cut from April through June.
4. The Board of Directors has agreed to a voluntary 20% reduction in their base salary and fees
from April through June, with the equivalent cash amount to be donated to the Burberry
Foundation COVID-19 Community Fund. The fund, which was established earlier this month
for its employees to support communities in need globally, is additional to the financial
donations Burberry has made to vaccine research and charities alleviating food poverty, with
monies going towards procuring and distributing PPE, helping foodbanks and supporting
healthcare charities around the world.
5. Burberry's trench coat factory in Castleford is now manufacturing non-surgical gowns and supplying them to the UK National Health Service. It is also sourcing surgical masks through its supply chain and
supplying them to the NHS and charities such as Marie Curie, which provides nursing care for families
living with terminal illness in the UK. To date, Burberry has donated more than 100,000 pieces of PPE.
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