Brawn GP is going to lay off approximately 270 people
Only a few hours after Brawn GP’s brilliant double victory in its first race, Nick Fry, the executive director, announced that the English team had decided to lay off nearly 40% of its staff. He reports that the leaders of the former Honda team have already informed the 700 employees of the Brackley plant by […]
Only a few hours after Brawn GP’s brilliant double victory in its first race, Nick Fry, the executive director, announced that the English team had decided to lay off nearly 40% of its staff.
He reports that the leaders of the former Honda team have already informed the 700 employees of the Brackley plant by mail that 270 of them would be laid off, primarily on a voluntary basis.
« It is very unfortunate to have to do this, but the change in technical regulations requires us to do so, and above all, we are a private team now, » said Nick Fry.
Brawn GP nonetheless signed a significant partnership deal with Virgin, with Richard Branson even confirming support of several tens of millions of dollars for the new team. But despite this, the budget will still be smaller than during the Honda era.
Fry provided some details: « We are currently about 700 people and we will have to reduce our staff to around 430, as we were in 2004, when the team was called BAR. »
The limitation of testing, no longer having to build engines (which are now purchased from Mercedes), and the limitation of wind tunnel testing allow Brawn GP to indeed employ fewer staff, in line with reducing the operating costs of the teams involved in F1.
