Man United shock staff as longest-serving employee faces redundancy
Manchester United staff have been shaken after learning the club have told their longest-serving employee, and their main point of contact with Uefa and the Premier League for match operations, that her job is at risk of redundancy.
Marie Marron has been at Old Trafford for 47 years, initially serving as the personal assistant to the club secretary at the time, Ken Merrett, but becoming a key figure in first-team logistics, acting as the liaison with Uefa and the Premier League as well as the FA and opposing teams before matches. She is also the voice of VAR on match days at Old Trafford.
Marron was the chief co-ordinator for United's historic Treble in 1999 and was among five long-serving staff who were honoured by the club sponsors in 2013 for their 'exceptional dedication and commitment' to the United team.
But in a week when United moved a significant step closer to reaching another major European final with their stunning 3-0 victory in Bilbao, The Times understands the news was broken to Marron in a face-to-face meeting that she was expected to leave at the end of the season.
She still travelled ahead of the team, as she always does for European away matches, to Bilbao and will perform the same role should Ruben Amorim's team return there for the Europa League final. But she is understood to be devastated by the news, having been at Old Trafford since 1978.
The new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made no secret of the need to make significant savings to ease United's financial problems, with widespread redundancies aimed at reducing the club's overall workforce from 1,250 to about 700. In a recent interview with The Times, the British billionaire said the Premier League club needed to make these savings to avoid the risk of 'insolvency'.
But Marron's departure would be another that would sadden many staff, with Jackie Kay, the club's head of team operations and someone who had been at United for close to 30 years, also among the many Ineos casualties.
Marron became United's longest-serving staff member in December after the death of Kath Phipps, the immensely popular 85-year-old training ground receptionist who had served United for half a century.
Phipps was alongside Marron in being recognised by the club's shirt sponsors, Aon, 12 years ago.
'Without the right people, no company or team can achieve the pinnacle of success,' Greg Case, president and chief executive of Aon, said then. 'We understand that our team members are our most valuable investment, and that great talent delivers great results, regardless of your field of expertise.
'These five individuals, all of whom have served Manchester United for more than 30 years and in some cases over 40, represent the exceptional dedication and commitment of the Manchester United team that supports the players on the pitch.'
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