Liverpool have placed a number of their non-playing staff on furlough as a result of the Premier League's suspension due to the coronavirus.
Football in the UK has been postponed indefinitely as a result of the outbreak, forcing a number of clubs to place employees on a leave of absence to cope with the lack of match day income.
Liverpool have confirmed they have placed staff who are affected by the absence of football on furlough, but these employees will still receive 100% of their salary.
#LFC is continuing to deal with a range of challenges caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and would like to update supporters on the progress that has been made to date. https://t.co/0QAiCSVDv6
— Liverpool FC (at ) (@LFC) April 4, 2020
The club are taking advantage of the government's emergency measures, with the state paying 80% of the wages, while Liverpool will top up the remaining 20%. The club will therefore be using public money to pay the bulk of their non-playing staff's wages instead of their own.
This is despite Liverpool announcing in February that they had made a pre-tax profit of £42m and an increased turnover to £533m in 2018/19. The club are owned by John Henry, whose company Fenway Sports Group have an estimated net worth of £2.1bn.
Liverpool released a statement on the club website, which read:
"In some instances, further measures will follow only once all parties are in a position to proceed and updates will be provided as and when this is the case.
"Liverpool have also placed some staff who are impacted by the Premier League suspension on furlough. The club has confirmed those staff will be paid 100% of their salaries to ensure no member of staff is financially disadvantaged.
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Source : 90min