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Manchester United are making around 250 staff redundant because they believe 'significant transformation' was required to ensure 'long-term health and success'.

United have started to inform members of staff that they are at risk of redundancy and individual meetings were held with members of staff and departments on Tuesday.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's plans to axe jobs have been controversial and around 250 people are set to be at risk, with United expected to accelerate the process in the coming weeks.

Ratcliffe's review of the club's operations found United had the highest employee count in the Premier League. The British billionaire has also looked to cut costs in other areas and scrapped most staff benefits when United made the FA Cup final at the end of May.

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United had previously given tickets for cup finals to their 1,100 staff members with travel to Wembley, along with pre-match food and hotel accommodation included.

For the FA Cup final last weekend, staff were still given a free match ticket, but they had to pay £20 for travel to and from Wembley, while all other benefits were scrapped.

Speaking at the latest fans' forum, United's chief operating officer, Collette Roche, explained the decision to make redundancies and said: "There will be other departures too as we continue to restructure the club to ensure we have the right people in the right roles for long-term success.

"Significant transformation is required to meet the challenges we face to be successful on and off the pitch. We believe greater efficiency can lead to better outcomes.

"The cost review has identified “non-essential” activities we can stop, and we therefore believe we have more people than we need to deliver future club priorities.

"We are proposing a club-wide redundancy programme, which we believe will reduce headcount by 250 roles. There is now a formal consultation under way with colleagues so I can’t say any more about the process until that is completed.

"But we have not taken this decision lightly and would not be doing it if we didn’t feel it was necessary for the long-term health and success of the club."

The morale among staff is understood to have plummeted since Ratcliffe's plans to cut jobs were announced but it's not the first time the 71-year-old has made such changes.

Ineos are the joint owners of Grangemouth, Scotland's last remaining oil and gas refinery, which is set to become a fuel import terminal, meaning job losses are planned.

The number of jobs is expected to be cut from around 450 to 100 and Union leaders called the move a “kick in the teeth for workers and the community”.