Giants eliminate jobs in wake of recession

The Giants on Friday joined a long list of majorleague teams that have shrunk their staffs amid financial losses caused by the coronavirus shutdown.

The Giants said they were eliminating roughly 10% of their 500 fulltime jobs in the business and baseball operations departments, which means about 50 layoffs. Baseball operations includes player development and scouting and has about 150 employees. The other 350 work on the business side.

The team would not say how many employees were let go in each department, but those more dependent on game attendance were said to be hit harder.

Employees without contracts will be let go Oct. 31. The Giants plan to honor the contracts of scouts and others in baseball operations and pay them through the end of the year.

A team statement cited the “unprecedented impact and continued uncertainty of the pandemic in our operation.

“We are providing a number of employee support programs to those impacted employees, including severance, health care and outplacement assistance.”

Although Major League Baseball and its 30 teams received some television revenue from the 60game regular season and postseason, about 6070% of Giants revenues come from ticket sales, parking and concessions.

Besides revenue lost in 2020, the Giants and other teams could be impacted in 2021 if fans still are not allowed to attend games, or can do so only in limited numbers. Team officials say it’s hard to plan around the uncertainty.

A number of teams began furloughing employees in late spring when it became clear the season would not begin quickly. That includes the A’s, who furloughed more than 100 employees in late May.

The Giants furloughed about 60 parttimers in midMay and instituted an average pay cut of 10%, but kept their fulltime employees, some of whom said they were told they would learn more in October.

A team statement cited the “unprecedented impact and continued uncertainty of the pandemic in our operation.”