The Flames and Oilers are "letting go of a significant number of employees in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic," according to Josh Gold-Smith of THE SCORE. Calgary Sports & Entertainment is laying off "approximately half of its full-time workforce -- or about 150 people -- for 60 days beginning April 13." The Flames also are "implementing salary reductions" of 10-25% for the remaining staff. The exec management team "will take the highest percentage cuts." An "unemployment benefit plan for the laid-off employees" will be implemented. Meanwhile, Oilers Entertainment Group is "temporarily reducing its staff by 139 employees and trimming compensation for those still working from home." All non-executive employees "will continue to receive" 75-90% of their salaries. That "mirrors the Flames' salary reductions, but Edmonton's move applies to all staff rather than just those who remain" (THESCORE.com, 3/30). The Oilers' move "follows the decision made on March 24 by the organization's senior hockey and business executives to voluntarily forgo" between 50-100% of their compensation (TSN.ca, 3/30).
TAKING CARE OF THEIR OWN: In N.Y., Brian Lewis notes Nets and Barclays Center employees are "getting the same checks they would have if they'd worked events as scheduled through the end of May." Those events include "not just NBA games, but concerts, Islanders games, college basketball like the A-10 tourney and even graduations." A source said that the checks cut "could end up totaling" an estimated $6M. The Barclays Center also "donated 10,000 pounds of food from the arena to City Harvest," with Barclays Center concessionaire Levy helping "facilitate the donation." Nets Owner Joe Tsai's Alibaba Group also "helped facilitate significant shipments" of ventilators and medical supplies to New York state (N.Y. POST, 3/31).
