Burberry Boss paid £400K to Move After Cutting 1,700 Jobs

Burberry’s new CEO, Joshua Schulman, received a £380,000 relocation package to support his move from New York to London as part of his appointment last July. This included £135,000 for temporary housing and £120,000 for moving expenses and help finding a home. Additionally, he has access to a £25,000 monthly housing allowance for 18 months, five months of which—£125,000—has already been used.

Schulman was brought in to turn around the struggling luxury brand and recently announced a major restructuring plan, which includes cutting around 1,700 jobs—roughly 20% of Burberry’s global workforce. The company’s staff numbers had already dropped from 9,336 to 8,459 over the last financial year.

Despite the cost-cutting, Schulman’s compensation has been significant, with a £1.2 million annual salary and total pay of £2.56 million in his first nine months. He’s not the only CEO to receive a large relocation allowance; IAG’s CEO, Luis Gallego, was previously given £500,000 for housing costs split between Madrid and London.

Mr. Schulman's revival strategy, known as "Burberry Forward," aims to re-center the luxury brand around its British identity. He pledged to bring new life to the company, which dates back to 1856, by highlighting its “quintessentially British” roots.

However, global challenges—including the impact of Donald Trump's trade war and a slowdown in the Chinese market—have weighed heavily on performance. Burberry posted a £66 million loss for the year ending in April, despite generating £2.4 billion in revenue.

Despite the difficult economic climate and the early stage of the transformation, Schulman remains confident. After the company’s results were published in May, he said he believes Burberry's best days are still to come and expects to achieve long-term, sustainable growth.

Investor sentiment seems to reflect that optimism—Burberry’s share price has risen by 13p in the past six months, pushing its market value to £3.7 billion.