CBI to lay off swathe of workers in bid to cut wage bill by a third | Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

The UK’s most prominent business lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, is set to lay off a swathe of its workers as it fights for survival amid a crisis prompted by multiple sexual misconduct allegations.

The CBI needs to cut its wage bill by a third within months, staff were told at an all hands meeting on Thursday morning, according to sources with knowledge of the discussion, with management aiming to use voluntary redundancies first to trim costs.

A spokesperson for the lobby group, which employs 300 people, confirmed that it had to make “difficult decisions” including cutting its salary base by a third, along with other “cost-saving measures”. “It will be a smaller and refocussed organisation in the future,” they said.

On Wednesday the CBI opened a confidence vote on its future and laid out a prospectus detailing plans for a reformed culture and governance. The result of the vote it set to be released shortly after a 6 June extraordinary general meeting (EGM) with members.

“With our prospectus for a renewed CBI now published, we will work with our staff and members on our core mission to help UK business succeed,” the spokesperson said. “We believe there is a strong basis for our members to continue to back us at our EGM.”

The CBI faces an uncertain future after more than 50 of its most high-profile business members quit or suspended ties with the body after claims of sexual misconduct, first reported by the Guardian.

Memberships make up the vast bulk of the CBI’s income. Its total income was £25m in 2021, of which £22m was from membership fees.

While staff had expected some cost-cutting after the loss of members, the pace and scale of the redundancies still came as a surprise to some.

Sources claimed staff have been left demoralised by the handling of a misconduct scandal which has included revelations of sexual harassment, sexual assault including rape, and drug taking.

On insider said: “It’s been awful, and it feels unfair that some people’s behaviour will cost others, who have done nothing wrong, so much.”

Another said that employees were trying to support one another through the aftermath of news reports and the process of applying for new jobs.

The toughest sell to regain support, according to one senior figure at a company that is still a member of the group, is for business to believe a CBI in a new form can “win back the ear of government”.

But that will be a “leap of faith” for members as central and local government and the Labour party suspended engagement in the wake of misconduct allegations, the industry leader added. “There’s still a business herd that may need somewhere to go, and it hasn’t found a home yet.”

The CBI’s board has sought legal advice in recent weeks about a range of options to restructure its activities, including the possibility of insolvency.

A spokesperson for the CBI said: “Following a series of member resignations, we know that the CBI will need to be smaller and refocused in the future. The board has sought advice on matters of restructuring as may be appropriate, as any responsible board would.”