More than 30 staff members at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) have accepted voluntary severance packages, per a report by the Associated Press.
As part of the federation’s endeavor of reducing its expenses by 20% due to coronavirus-related monetary shortfalls, the staff cuts are slated to be enacted by the end of this month. CEO Sarah Hirshland previously said that the USOPC will not use part of its $200 million (£162million/€184million) reserves to deal with its financial shortfall, preserving that money in the event of a cancelled Olympic Games.
We reported last month how, with the greatest source of USOPC funds being reaped during the year of a Summer Olympics via advertising revenue and other sources, the delay of the Games to July 2021 means this monetary windfall’s delay is affecting business operations now.
Hirshland specified at the time that ‘cuts of 10 to 20% are necessary to balance both the current delay in revenue and anticipated decline’ expected in the next few years. She has already taken a 20% pay cut, while the rest of the executive team has taken 10% pay cuts through at least the end of 2020.
