The Oakland A’s will follow the lead of other baseball teams hit hard financially by the coronavirus pandemic by instituting widespread furloughs across their organization next week, the team confirmed Tuesday.
The A’s will furlough members of their baseball operations as well as their business operations through Oct. 31. In all, half of the A’s entire front office will be furloughed, sources told this news organization. Owner John Fisher came out of the shadows to address fans and the A’s organization regarding the news.
“I know that many of you will wonder why the A’s are cutting costs now. Nobody knows how this pandemic will evolve over the long term,” the note from Fisher reads. “What is clear is that our revenues will be dramatically reduced this year. None of this diminishes the pain of today’s actions, but it is an honest acknowledgement of the circumstances of the moment.”
A note from A’s owner John Fisher… pic.twitter.com/jyyztfe9Ix
— Athletics Farm (@AthleticsFarm) May 27, 2020
Oakland’s amateur scouts will be furloughed following the MLB draft on June 10-11, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. The team’s pro scouts will be among those furloughed next week.
In addition to those furloughed, the A’s will also cut costs by slashing pay for those making more than $60,000. Those A’s executives remaining will be taking scaled pay reductions. Pay cuts will also be in effect through Oct. 31.
Those pay cuts extend into the minor league branches, too. The A’s confirmed that weekly $400 stipends for minor league players would be cut off starting at the end of May and until the uniform player contract suspension is lifted. The team had agreed to pay its minor leaguers the stipend through May 31.
“This was a difficult decision and it’s one that comes at a time when a number of our full-time employees are also finding themselves either furloughed or facing a reduction in salary for the remainder of the season. For all of this, I am sorry,” general manager David Forst said in an email to minor leaguers.
Here is the email David Forst sent to players today: https://t.co/rwHqiAeKla pic.twitter.com/rEZK2RC1eZ
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 27, 2020
The A’s will continue paying health care, 401K and pension costs for their employees.
News of the A’s cost-cutting measures come one week after this news organization reported the team has yet to pay their annual $1.2 million in rent to use the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s cited a “force majeure” clause in their rental agreement that relieves both sides from obligation when there’s an extraordinary event, like COVID-19.
The A’s have told the Coliseum Authority they would be deferring payment “until we have a better understanding of when the Coliseum will be available for our use.” That answer should come fairly soon since Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are currently negotiating a possible start to the season in early July.
Meanwhile, the Giants have committed to paying 350 of their full-time staff through the end of September, according to the Chronicle. Still, the Giants are furloughing 60 part-time workers and salaries for all full-time employees making more than $75,000 will be cut.
After the Tampa Bay Rays began putting employees on furlough and cutting salaries of others in April, many other teams have followed suit, including the Marlins, Reds, Pirates, Cubs and, most recently, the Angels.
Major League Baseball had already suspended uniformed player contracts as of May 1, which allowed teams to furlough employees through the rest of their contract year (Oct. 31), if necessary.
