Former Cubs VP Carl Rice had spent 39 seasons with the team before being laid off last monthGETTY IMAGES
The Cubs are a "diminished organization" after laying off 100-plus employees due to COVID-19 revenue losses, according to Mooney & Sharma of THE ATHLETIC. The cuts "impacted almost every sector" within Cubs President Crane Kenney's business operations department, as well as the "lifeblood of the baseball operations department" run by President Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer -- scouting, player development and international operations. Sources said that the Cubs are "losing valuable manpower, experience and institutional knowledge." Former Cubs VP/Wrigley Field Restoration & Expansion Carl Rice "had spent 39 seasons with the organization ... rising to the vice president level before a round of cuts in late September." Rice in his role "helped oversee the Wrigley Field renovations and the staging of special events like concerts." Former Cubs Media Relations Dir Peter Chase had held that role since '07, while former Dir of Dominican Operations Jose Serra joined the team after the '96 season and "helped build out the team's network in Latin America and eventually a new academy in the Dominican Republic." The club has cut "47 staffers on the baseball side, plus 13 part-time employees who were let go near the beginning of the pandemic when it became clear that the minor-league season was in jeopardy." The Cubs are "planning to phase out the company-wide cuts" implemented during MLB's shutdown and "restore full salaries in January" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/21).
