Baby shower fashion may not hit the same after the latest news coming out of the Burberry luxury brand.
Geoffrey Williams, the global vice-president of colleague attraction and inclusion at Burberry, said his position is being phased out as part of a larger company overhaul and restructuring, according to The Times, the UK’s oldest national daily newspaper.
The elimination of Williams’ position is part of Burberry’s cost-cutting plans that might result in the elimination of over 1,700 jobs by 2027 at the luxury retailer; these jobs represents around 20 percent of Burberry’s workforce.
In a statement, Williams said: “As part of a wider restructure, Burberry has chosen to integrate responsibility for diversity, equity and inclusion across the organisation. This reflects a belief that DEI should be embedded throughout the culture and owned by leaders across the business. The successful transition from a centralised function to a shared responsibility will help ensure long-term sustainability.”
He continued, “Several initiatives and external partnerships established during my tenure will continue to shape the brand’s approach going forward.”
Williams joined Burberry in April 2022 as the global Vice President for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) before being promoted to the role of global-Vice President for colleague attraction and inclusion, leading the company’s talent strategy. He came to Burberry after leading DEI strategies at Dr Martens, the British footwear brand, and tech and media conglomerate Thomson Reuters.
Williams, who is the chairman of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre—a multi-purpose multi arts centre in North London—and co-founder of the social enterprise, Rocking Ur Teens, has been described as “highly respected in the world of leadership.”
Burberry’s decision to eliminate its head of DEI role follows some UK companies following the lead of several American counterparts in the public and private who have begun to rollback DEI initiatives in the wake of several executive orders from President Trump. Companies like Target, Amazon, Meta, and many others, have faced backlash due to changing course on prior commitments to DEI. While Burberry, and a few others, have moved in a similar direction as some US companies, others have stood firm, despite having US arms to their businesses. Deloitte UK, for instance, has said it would honor and remain firm in its commitments to DEI reporting and network; Barclays has committed to doing the same, according to The Times.
