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The day began with the report from PWInsider, which stated that WWE planned on having another round of cutbacks. As of this writing, Gerald Brisco, Mike Rotunda and Sarah Stock are the names that were confirmed to have been released by the WWE.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided several new updates and details on the company-wide cutbacks.
It has been revealed that as many as 70 people were let go by the company this past week and the decision mainly came down to WWE not wanting to get back the employees that were furloughed in April.
Production managers, live event producers and people who worked in departments such as travel, merchandise and live events were hit the hardest by the latest cutbacks.
The belief is that the company released older employees and retained the younger members of the backstage workforce.
Backstage bitterness in WWE over the latest round of releases
Meltzer also revealed that there is some bitterness amongst the people 'who felt strung all along.'
Sources revealed to The Wrestling Observer that WWE told the furloughed personnel that they would be brought back. The date, however, kept getting postponed every month.
During the same period, WWE released its quarterly earnings report, and the company managed to rake in record profits for the second quarter. The company also made a 'big contract' hire by employing Nick Khan as the company's new president. The bitterness stemmed from the fact that the employees were told that furloughs were the last thing that the company wanted and that the decision was 'forced out of economic necessity' caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recurrent delays led to many furloughed employees looking out for opportunities outside the WWE as they were convinced that the company wouldn't get them back.
While there are people who have returned from the brief layoff, the company also told many employees that they would not be brought back.
WWE officials also noted that there would be no talent releases this time around.
As noted earlier, as many as 70 employees of the WWE have been released. We should ideally get to know the names of the people who were let go in the weeks to follow.
