A’s give fulltime workers good news

Employees’ pay will continue through May

After more than a week of silence and uncertainty, the A’s told their fulltime employees Wednesday that they will be paid through May.

Numerous sources told The Chronicle that late in the afternoon, the team let staff members know that it will not be laying off personnel or cutting pay for at least the next month. Earlier in the week, employees had expressed concerns that Thursday might be their final paycheck should the A’s decide to trim payroll during the coronavirus shutdown.

Teams are allowed to implement cuts to salaried and contracted staff — which covers basically everyone, including the front office, the manager and coaching staff — starting Friday, according to a memo issued by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred last week.

More than 20 teams, including the Giants, made it known last week that they’d keep everyone at full salary through the end of May. This week, though, the Tampa Bay Rays became the first team to announce cutbacks. The team said it will institute reductions in pay and furlough some workers, but will not eliminate any jobs.

The A’s already have had

layoffs this year, letting go of more than a dozen employees in their businessoperations group in January and February.

And more could be coming in the coming months with no date in sight for baseball to resume and no guarantees games will be played at the Coliseum even if the sport does get up and running this year.

Some A’s employees have seen their hours reduced this month, and parttime staff are not expected to be paid beyond Thursday.

The team’s $1 million employeerelief fund for gameday workers is providing a onetime taxfree $600 grant per applicant, sources told The Chronicle.

Tampa Bay’s costcutting includes full benefits for furloughed employees, plus hardship pay for those who qualify.