Major League Soccer Lays Off 20 Percent Of Staff One Day Prior To MLS Playoffs Start
Nov 20, 2020, 10:18 AM
Don Garber, MLS Commissioner. Photo courtesy: Real Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Major League Soccer laid off 20 percent of its staff on Thursday as the financial impact of the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the league, according to a report from Yahoo Sports.
Roughly 300 people were employed by the League in their New York City head office, but on Thursday 70 of those 300 employees were told that their jobs no longer existed for the time being.
Awful day for so many great,
hard-working people who have helped @MLS grow behind the scenes. My heart aches for them this evening but many of them will be heard from again I’m sure of it. #MLS https://t.co/gUi5WhDja7— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) November 20, 2020
MLS suspended its season indefinitely in April and most of the employees agreed to a pay cut to help keep the budgets afloat. When the season resumed in July, the same employees who took pay cuts in April returned to their offices but under the same financial guidelines. MLS Commissioner Don Garber took a 25 percent pay cut while managers and other high ranked executives took pay cuts between 10 and 20 percent.
The 2020 season, which is also the 25th anniversary of MLS, has been played without fans. Unfortunately, the league relies heavily on game-day revenue. In 2019, the league averaged 21,000 spectators per game. Garber estimated that the loss of fans would equate to a $1 billion loss for the league in 2020.
Nonetheless, the regular season has concluded and despite the sad news regarding the recent furloughs, MLS fans can be excited for the MLS Playoffs which begin today with two games.
