Delaware North is "placing most of its full-time workers on leave as the Buffalo-based hospitality giant grapples with the deep blow to its business" caused by the coronavirus, according to Stephen Watson of the BUFFALO NEWS. The company yesterday said that effective April 1, it is "putting more than two-thirds of its 3,100 full-time employees on temporary leave." The workers "will receive one week of pay and eight weeks of benefits." Those full-time workers who remain "will do so at a reduced rate of pay that wasn't specified by the company, which has several hundred at its global headquarters." Delaware North Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Glen White said that the pay cuts "apply to top company executives -- including co-CEOs Jerry Jacobs Jr. and Lou Jacobs and their brother, Charlie, CEO of the company's holdings in Boston" (BUFFALO NEWS, 3/26). In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont notes next week a total 150 employees of the Bruins and TD Garden "will see their paychecks shrink or disappear." Delaware North "detailed the rollbacks in what it termed a 'temporary business stabilization' plan for its 150 full-time workers employed across the two entities." A statement said that "workers under contract, such as Bruins management and coaches, will not be subject to rollbacks" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26).
COMING UP SHORT? In Boston, Christopher Gasper writes Bruins Owner and Delaware North Chair Jeremy Jacobs "resorted to his miserly ways this week" after being the "last NHL franchise to release a plan to compensate part-time team and TD Garden game day employees" during the shutdown. The Bruins' brain trust called the freezing of funds "temporary business stabilization measures" for Delaware North, which is just a "euphemism for pad-locking Jacobs's wallet as long as pucks are on pause." Jacobs is "not willing to sacrifice for the good of the economy," and he is "coming up short and cheaping out when it matters most." The Bruins have "barely done the bare minimum during this crisis," as they "aren't even following the lead of the Celtics, their TD Garden tenants and frenemies" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26).
STUBHUB ADJUSTS: ESPN.com's Thompson & Berko reported StubHub has "begun furloughing employees, making it the first major ticketing company to publicly admit to significant cost-cutting moves in the wake of financial damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic." While StubHub would "not provide specifics on the number of people furloughed," it was reported that StubHub furloughed as much as 67% of their workforce, leaving "less than 150 out of roughly 450 staffers until 'at least June'" (ESPN.com, 3/25).
