Felix Upton on April 16, 2020
Vince McMahon had a call with employees yesterday at noon. It was a short call, but the impact was significant.
McMahon only spoke for a few minutes, but the message was clear. WWE needed to make drastic cuts due to the novel coronavirus changing their business. Some talents were furloughed like all producers, but most were released.
Fightful Select has provided a word for word transcript of what Vince McMahon said on that call. He had a way of addressing the matter in a succinct manner and then informed employees that they will be hearing from human resources.
“Thank you all for joining me today. First and foremost, I hope that you and your families are safe. What we’re going through today is unprecedented, and there’s no doubt these are challenging times for everyone. Given the adverse effects of the Coronavirus and the resulting financial recession, WWE, like so many companies have to decrease operating expenses. Effective immediately, we are reducing executive and board member compensation, decreasing talent expenses, cutting third party staffing and consulting, and improving our cash flow by delaying the production of our new headquarters for at least six months.
Despite all these measures, given the uncertainty we are facing today, unfortunately we have to temporarily reduce head count. As such, a number of WWE employees will be furloughed from the company today. At the close of my remarks, employees will receive a communication detailing their individual situations. More specifically, those impacted by the furloughs will receive a text message from Human Resources with specific information for their next steps.
These are not easy decisions, but reflect the reality of the environment we’re working in today. We live in a world of troubled times. I’m confident as a company, and most importantly, confident in you as individual employees, will pull through these tough times and come back to work and make life better than it’s ever been. Thank you.”
It was reported that calls started going out about releases as soon as Vince McMahon ended his call. Cuts were widespread across the company and a lot of longtime employees were released as well.
Aiden English released a heartfelt video about the hundreds of people who were released from WWE that fans will never know about. This was a dark day for the company, but people like Becky Lynch provided hope of brighter days to come.
What do you think about the recent WWE lay-offs? Sound off in our new and improved comments section!
April 16, 2020 12:37 pm
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