McLaren Poised to Cut 1,200 Jobs

McLaren says circumstances have encouraged it to get fairly aggressive in its restructuring efforts. Coronavirus lockdowns forced the company, like so many others, to postpone production and forego sales.

While an undesirable scenario for any manufacturer, McLaren Group already faced additional headwinds by being a relatively small manufacturer dependent on low-volume specialty products with astronomical price tags and having its racing program kneecapped the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

In early May, the sanctioning body of Formula 1 announced the $175-million proposed budget cap for teams would now be just $145 million. The FIA and World Motor Sport Council is under the impression that the series cannot survive as is — races have become fairly predictable and events are losing spectators both in the stands and at home. While the cap doesn’t influence marketing budgets or how much dough one can use to tempt the world’s greatest drivers, it’s supposed to keep the cars themselves more equal and give some of the smaller outfits a fighting chance.

With the pandemic also nuking this year’s F1 season and the budgets of businesses around the world, the FIA also thinks reducing costs is a good idea in general.

“The initial objectives [of the budget cap] were a more competitive field and I think with the situation we have now, economic sustainability is the priority, and I think that counts as much for the big teams as it does for the small teams,” explained Managing Director of F1 Ross Braw (OBE) earlier this month.

For McLaren, the arrangement seemed agreeable. As a solid mid-tier contender with the ability to surprise, its team clearly thought it could do more with the money than Ferrari or Mercedes in F1. However, it also expressed a need to cut costs. McLaren was the first F1 team to furlough staff when the pandemic finally became a serious issue and has sought business loans through the UK government.

According to reports from Sky News, about 1,200 people will be let go due to cost-cutting, with an estimated 70 coming directly from the F1 team. That’s about one-quarter of McLaren’s staff.

“We deeply regret the impact that this restructure will have on all our people, but especially those whose jobs may be affected,” said Executive Chairman Paul Walsh. “It is a course of action we have worked hard to avoid, having already undertaken dramatic cost-saving measures across all areas of the business. But we now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce.”

[Images: Formula 1; McLaren Group]