Transcript Of Vince McMahon’s Message To WWE Employees Ahead Of Cuts
WWE made some difficult decisions this week.
On Wednesday, a video was distributed to WWE employees and talent informing them that widespread cuts would be incoming. Fightful has obtained video of the call, which lasted just under two minutes. McMahon blamed the economic instability
McMahon stated the following:
“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.”
Almost immediately following, calls started to go out to released talent. Fightful has been told that the cuts were widespread, going across many departments from longtime employees to people that most wrestling fans didn’t know about.
Fightful’s thoughts are with those impacted within the industry.
