BURBERRY has announced plans to cut a potential 1,700 jobs worldwide as part of efforts to slash staff costs and return the luxury fashion brand to a profit.

The proposals would cut around 20 per cent of its global workforce, including job losses at its Castleford factory in West Yorkshire.

The company said it is hiking its cost-cutting target to £100 million of savings per year by the 2027 financial year.

These savings would partly come from a reduction in “people-related costs”, the firm said, which could affect around 1,700 jobs globally over the two-year programme.

Burberry’s chief executive Joshua Schulman said the majority of the reductions would come from its head office-based teams around the world.

These would “naturally” be focused in the UK, where there is a bigger proportion of employees.

In shops, plans to “align schedules with peak store traffic” will result in the reduction of some staff.

Mr Schulman also confirmed the company has proposed scrapping the night shift at its Castleford factory, which makes Burberry’s trench coats which sell from about £1,000 to £10,000 apiece.

The proposals will result in the reduction of around 25 per cent of the company’s UK roles.

“For a long time we have had overcapacity at that facility, and that is simply not sustainable,” Mr Schulman said.