Report: NBA Lays Off 100 Employees Ahead of Orlando Restart

As the NBA gears up to resume its season in Orlando next month, the league has reportedly laid off an estimated 100 employees, according to a report from Alex Silverman of Morning Consult.

In a statement emailed to Morning Consult, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said, “We are restructuring certain functions at the league office to better align with changes in our business, particularly around digital media, and be well-positioned for future growth.”

These cuts are reportedly not related to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the NBA to suspend the regular season on March 11. The NBA’s events staff, ticketing staff and team business staff were affected by the layoffs, according to a New York Daily News report.

Those affected will be paid through July 6 and have health benefits run through July 31. Employees up to the senior director level will be offered either two weeks of base pay per year of service (up to a maximum of 52 weeks) or eight weeks of base pay, whichever is greater. Minimum severance is reportedly three months of base pay for associate vice presidents, six months of base pay for vice presidents, nine months of base pay for senior vice presidents and a year of base pay for executive vice presidents.

The report comes soon after the NBA shared its 113-page health and safety protocol with its teams, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The league began Phase I of its restart process on June 12 with voluntary individual workouts at team facilities. Phase II entails mandatory testing for COVID-19, beginning on June 23 through the remaining phases.

Phase III will start on July 1 and features mandatory individual workouts, while group workouts will still be prohibited. No more than eight players will be allowed in a team facility at one time.

To begin Phase IV, teams are slated to travel to Walt Disney World in Orlando between July 7 and 9. Phase V will start on July 22, and will allow teams to play scrimmage games against each other and allows socialization between players and staff at other on-campus hotels. Phase VI will mark the restarting of the NBA season, and will begin on July 30.