Newly crowned FA Cup champions Arsenal to lay off 55 people due to global pandemic

Arsenal were over the moon after having beaten Chelsea in the FA Cup final at the iconic Wembley Stadium last Saturday. However, the four-time FA Cup champions have got some bad news for their passionate fans across the globe as they have decided to lay off 55 persons from their staff for covering up for the huge financial losses that have been incurred by them due to the ongoing global pandemic. The 'Gunners' have also made an official announcement regarding the same on their official website

'Proposing 55 redundancies': Arsenal

"In line with other football clubs and many other businesses operating in the sport, leisure, and entertainment arena, we have been impacted directly by COVID-19. Our main sources of income have all reduced significantly. Revenue from broadcasters, matchday, and commercial activities have all been hit severely and these impacts will continue into at least the forthcoming 2020/21 season. The pandemic represents one of the most challenging periods in our 134-year history and we have responded promptly by implementing wide-ranging measures to reduce our costs. Our players, senior football staff and executive team have volunteered pay cuts, we have stopped pretty much all of our capital spendings, and our discretionary operating expenditure has been strictly controlled", read the official statement that was issued by Arsenal.

"Our aim has been to protect the jobs and base salaries of our people for as long as we possibly can. Unfortunately, we have now come to the point where we are proposing 55 redundancies", the statement further read.

At the same time, they had also made it clear that they will be facing more significant and longer-lasting reductions in their revenue than they had hoped and the current indicators are that they will not have fans back at Emirates Stadium for the start of next season and fans will only be able to return in limited numbers after that.  At the same time, they also mentioned that the global economic projections are very negative as well.

The football club further added that this will impact the disposable income of their fans, the money corporate clients have to spend on hospitality and sponsorship, and the ability for broadcasters to invest in TV rights.

Read the entire statement here: