Liverpool have decided against placing a number of their non-playing staff on furlough, reversing a decision which had drawn ire from a number of people in the world of football.
It had been reported that the Merseyside club were set to use the recently introduced British Government scheme which would see 80% of their employees' wages paid by the Government, while Liverpool would pick up the remaining 20%.
The scheme was originally brought in to ensure small and struggling businesses would not go under due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the decision of an über-rich organisation such as Liverpool to take advantage of it had come under heavy scrutiny.
Jurgen Klopp showed compassion for all at the start of this pandemic, senior players heavily involved in @premierleague players taking wage cuts. Then all that respect & goodwill is lost, poor this @LFC https://t.co/9bE8Rw1veE
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) April 4, 2020
Statement from SOS
Link: https://t.co/RYJCBkTvaj pic.twitter.com/s2EqTWuscW— Spirit of Shankly (@spiritofshankly) April 4, 2020
With the club also receiving a letter from Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, they today announced that they would not be going ahead with the plans.
In a statement released this evening, club CEO Peter Moore said Liverpool would continue to pay the wages of their staff:
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.
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.
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.
We would like to acknowledge the great army of staff and casual workers who work tirelessly to ensure Liverpool is a club that operates to the highest of standards.
However, Moore did add that despite recording record profits last year, the club's finances will suffer as a result of the current global pandemic.
But in the spirit of transparency we must also be clear, despite the fact we were in a healthy position prior to this crisis, our revenues have been shut off yet our outgoings remain. And like almost every sector of society, there is great uncertainty and concern over our present and future.
Like any responsible employer concerned for its workers in the current situation, the Club continues to prepare for a range of different scenarios, around when football can return to operating as it did before the pandemic. These scenarios range from best case to worst and everything in between.
It is an unavoidable truth that several of these scenarios involve a massive downturn in revenue, with correspondingly unprecedented operating losses.
