McLaren to put staff on furlough

London

McLaren became the first Formula One team to furlough staff because of the coronavirus on Wednesday, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz joining senior management in taking a pay cut.

The sportscar maker said in a statement the temporary three-month wage reduction was part of wider cost-cutting measures due to the impact of the pandemic on its business, Reuters reported.

“These measures are focused on protecting jobs in the short-term to ensure our employees return to full-time work as the economy recovers,” McLaren added.

A team spokesman emphasised that 100-150 staff from across the group who were working on a “VentilatorChallengeUK” project were not included in the measure.

The group, including the luxury carmaker and applied technology arm, employs some 3,700 people with around 850 working for the F1 team.