Manchester City announces it will not furlough employees amid coronavirus
Manchester City will keep paying its workers during the coronavirus pandemic. While a number of Premier League teams have opted to furlough employees, Manchester City is the first to announce it will not do that, according to Goal.com.
Manchester City made the announcement a day after Liverpool was criticized for furloughing its non-playing staff. In a statement, City said it was “determined to protect our people, their jobs and our business.”
“City took a divergent move on Sunday, with a club spokesperson saying in a statement: "We can confirm, following a decision by the chairman and board last week, that Manchester City will not be utilising the UK Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (government-funded furloughing).
"We remain determined to protect our people, their jobs and our business, whilst at the same time doing what we can to support our wider community at this most challenging time for everybody."
Why was Liverpool criticized for furloughing employees?
Under the UK’s program, furloughed workers will receive 80 percent of their wages from the government. Liverpool says it will pay the remaining 20 percent of furloughed employees’ salaries, meaning Liverpool employees who were furloughed will receive their full salary while games are postponed.
Many people, however, were quick to note Liverpool is one of the richest clubs in the world. Those people believe the team should pay the full amount of employee salaries rather than relying on the government — and taxpayers — to pay for 80 percent of them.
One Liverpool staff member said they felt betrayed by the team upon hearing the news, telling BBC other businesses need the government program more than Liverpool.
Liverpool isn’t the only team furloughing its employees. Bournemouth, Newcastle, Norwich and Tottenham have all placed employees on the furlough program.
Manchester City has the money to pay employees
Manchester City has one of the richest owners in the sport in Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the club has spent exorbitant sums on players. Such spending attracted the attention of UEFA and its Financial Fair Play regulations, and Manchester City is currently banned from the Champions League for two seasons as punishment.
While this gesture doesn’t absolve City of those violations, at least the team is using its money to do something good this time around.
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