WWE News: Morale At An All-Time Low, Remains On Track For Highly Profitable Year Despite Coronavirus

Morale within WWE on the heels of the mass layoffs reportedly was at an all-time low following a massive round of layoffs while the organization remains on track for one of its most profitable years.

Sources within the WWE office headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, told WrestlingNews the general fear within the company is that anyone could be next after Wednesday’s cuts. One of the departments reportedly hit hardest by the layoffs was the live event division since the COVID-19 pandemic has taken away WWE’s ability to run live arena shows and events.

Another source told PWInsider “at least 40% of the company was gone” following the cuts, forcing many of the survivors to wear “multiple hats.” The source said the other division hit hard by the cuts was the digital team, which produces content for social media and YouTube. It reportedly left those remaining with a sense of “survivor’s guilt.”

Fightful shared a transcript of a reported video call Vince McMahon had with employees on Wednesday ahead of the cuts. In it, he spoke about how the company was working to cut costs, which included personnel cuts, and employees would receive texts from Human Resources about their status and next steps.

McMahon closed by saying:

“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.”

As of Thursday, WWE had released or furloughed nearly 40 on-screen talents, backstage producers and coaches. Wrestlers released reportedly had 90-day no-compete clauses, preventing them from signing with other companies until July 17. Producers and coaches have been furloughed until July 1, though it is unclear if that will be extended and how many will be brought back.

Despite the reported deep cuts to WWE’s workforce, it is still on track to have one of its most profitable years.

Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics took to Twitter after the Wednesday cuts to share a breakdown of WWE’s 2020 financial year, originally posted on March 31. He said barring any delay or loss of TV revenue, the cuts were done to maintain “pre-COVID 19 profit projections,” which is estimated to be more than $900 million without live events and loss of revenue from Wrestlemania and the Saudi Arabia shows.

The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer echoed Thurston’s estimates, saying WWE’s personnel cuts save the company more than $700,000 a month. Total monthly savings from changes, including salary cuts to executives and delaying the move to the new headquarters, saves WWE around $4 million in monthly expenses.