Layoffs and Furloughs at USOPC

(ATR) The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee will reveal on Tuesday details of a future with a greatly reduced workforce.

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland announced in a letter on Thursday to U.S. Olympic stakeholders that 51 employees had lost their jobs and another 33 were placed on furlough.

The assignments of 23 temporary workers were also ended while 32 employees were offered reassignment to a different position within the USOPC.

"I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of this change. It is significant," Hirshland said.

Earlier in the month, more than 30 employees accepted buyouts. The USOPC employed a staff of about 500 before the downsizing process began.

Hirshland says the job cuts are part of reducing expenses by 10 to 20 percent for the 2020-2024 cycle to stay financially stable in the wake of the lost revenue from postponing Tokyo 2020 and the expected future impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It has become clear that it will take months, and not weeks, for us to return to full operation, particularly at our training centers in Colorado Springs and Lake Placid. We are adapting, even more than we had imagined, to a new way of operating and we cannot predict how long it will take before we have clarity on what the future holds," Hirshland said in the letter.

She says the planned changes will be reviewed in detail at a virtual Town Hall with employees on May 26.

Around the Rings is told there is a high level of concern within the USOPC about how it can maintain its productivity with fewer employees and the travel restrictions and social distancing required during the pandemic.

Written by Gerard Farek

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