Manchester United leave behind hundreds of worried staff as they prepare for their pre-season tour in Los Angeles… with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos set to make up to 250 job cuts at Old Trafford

Manchester United fly to Los Angeles on Wednesday for a pre-season tour of the United States, leaving behind hundreds of worried staff who have been told their jobs are at risk.

Employees were informed during a series of meetings on Tuesday about the departments and individuals at risk from a reorganization process that will result in the elimination of up to 250 jobs.

It is reported that staff members who will no longer be touring because they are at risk of losing their jobs were told the news last week.

A tour group of about 125 people – including the playing and coaching staff – will fly to California on Wednesday, slightly fewer than the number that toured the U.S. last summer.

United declined to comment on the latest phase of cost-cutting measures under co-owners Ineos. While no staff lost their jobs on Tuesday, the process is set to accelerate in the coming weeks as nearly a quarter of the workforce faces redundancy.

Their journey comes amid an ongoing redundancy process led by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Morale at the club has been poor for months since Sir Jim Ratcliffe appointed restructuring company Interpath to look at how the business can be run more economically.

The low point came after the meetings on Tuesday, just 24 hours before United depart for a three-match tour that includes games against Arsenal in LA, Real Betis in San Diego and Liverpool in South Carolina.

United is said to be trying to deal with the difficult situation with as much empathy as possible. That was the message when interim CEO Jean-Claude Blanc confirmed the 250 job cuts at a staff meeting earlier this month.

But inevitably the mood around United has been severely affected by the plans, which could save up to £10m a year to invest in football operations and infrastructure.

Speaking at the latest Fans’ Forum meeting, Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche said: ‘We continue to restructure the club to ensure we have the right people in the right positions for long-term success.

‘Significant transformation is needed to address the challenges we face to be successful on and off the field. We believe that greater efficiency can lead to better results.

A large-scale cost study has shown that United needs to make significant cuts.

‘The cost assessment has identified ‘non-essential’ activities that we can stop and as a result we are confident that we have more people than we need to deliver on the club’s future priorities.

‘We have not taken this decision lightly and would not have done so if we did not feel it was necessary for the long-term health and success of the club.

‘One of the reasons we need to cut costs is to have as much money available as possible to invest in our priorities: football success and improving infrastructure.’

Meanwhile, United are interested in Bayern Munich right-back Noussair Mazraoui, but only if they can sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka this summer. Wan-Bissaka, who is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, has been linked with West Ham and Galatasaray.