I’ve mentioned this a lot lately and have been tracking it closely: with team guarantees of employment generally running only through May, a lot of teams are going to start announcing layoffs and/or furloughs soon (the Marlins and Angels already have, per reports).
But I’m happy to note that the Cubs will not be among those teams:
Chicago Cubs employees will be taking pay cuts and have been guaranteed employment through at least the end of June, sources familiar with an employee call today told ESPN. A majority of the cuts will be for 15% or less. The hope is that baseball is back in June and no furloughs.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 20, 2020
To be sure, pay cuts are not nothing, and it could really sting for many lower-level employees. But continued employment is significant, and I also like hearing that if baseball resumes, then the continued employment is permanent. No one questions that these are challenging times for teams – like almost every business in the country – but team owners are nevertheless in a unique position to do some real good.
As we’ve discussed, there are so many good baseball, business, and human reasons for keeping your staff fully intact right now. I’m very glad that, for now, the Cubs are following that path.
"In a business built almost entirely on the idea that you need to engender long-lasting passionate love among your fans, now is the time – more than ever – to justify that love." https://t.co/wgJAwX7PHZ
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) May 13, 2020