Phoenix Suns informed as many as 10% of its employees Thursday that they are furloughed until further notice.
The team, like most organizations in professional sports and entertainment, is in a tough spot financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the last season cut short and this season starting later than normal, and with either very few or no fans at all being allowed to attend games, the Suns are missing out on millions of dollars of revenue.
Because of these losses, the team’s owner, Robert Sarver, and team executives decided they needed to furlough some of its staff, Suns Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Dean Stoyer confirmed to the Business Journal.
“We held out as long as we could,” Stoyer said. “Robert Sarverhas tried as long as he can before getting into this situation. We just can’t hold back the surge anymore.”
While not giving a specific number, Stoyer said between 5% and 10% of Suns employees were furloughed and no one was laid off at this time.
Read more of this subscription-only story from the Business Journal.
