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What Vince McMahon Told WWE Workers Before Laying Them Off

Earlier this week, WWE laid off a large number of wrestlers and backstage talent as well as office staff, a move made crueler by the fact that they sent a press release bragging of $500 million in reserves to weather the crisis that same day and announced a stock dividend for investors of over $9 million the next day, an amount that could have kept all of the talent released under contract into next year. WWE wasn't forced to choose between their profits and their workers, but they chose anyway, and the money was more important. Perhaps that's because Vince McMahon needs that money to pay for political favor by donating large sums to Donald Trump? That's how McMahon ended up on a presidential task force, after all, and how his wife, Linda McMahon, ended up with a cabinet position followed by a job running a Trump SuperPac which ultimately was able to pledge $18.5 million to the state of Florida on the same day Florida granted WWE a special exemption from state-wide stay-at-home orders.

Vince McMahon Talks About Tough Decisions for WWE

That exemption allowed WWE to resume live broadcasts of their three weekly wrestling shows, potentially putting the workers they didn't fire in more danger during the pandemic due to traveling more often. But to hear Vince McMahon tell is, his primary concern is, of course, the safety of his workers and these challenging times for everyone. Fightful got ahold of the transcript of the video message McMahon sent out to the company the morning of the layoffs, and you can read it below.

Thank you all for joining me today. First and foremost, I hope that you and your families are safe. What we're going through today is unprecedented, and there's no doubt these are challenging times for everyone. Given the adverse effects of the Coronavirus and the resulting financial recession, WWE, like so many companies have to decrease operating expenses. Effective immediately, we are reducing executive and board member compensation, decreasing talent expenses, cutting third party staffing and consulting, and improving our cash flow by delaying the production of our new headquarters for at least six months.

Despite all these measures, given the uncertainty we are facing today, unfortunately we have to temporarily reduce head count. As such, a number of WWE employees will be furloughed from the company today. At the close of my remarks, employees will receive a communication detailing their individual situations. More specifically, those impacted by the furloughs will receive a text message from Human Resources with specific information for their next steps.

These are not easy decisions, but reflect the reality of the environment we're working in today. We live in a world of troubled times. I'm confident as a company, and most importantly, confident in you as individual employees, will pull through these tough times and come back to work and make life better than it's ever been. Thank you.

McMahon's claims the decisions weren't easy ring hollow ahead of WWE's first quarter financial report. WWE will be able to brag of the money they're saving and keep their stock prices high. Laid off workers, most unable to find other work while the pandemic continues, will be able to file for assistance from government programs. And when things return to normal, WWE can hire some people back, probably with lower contracts, since people will be glad for any job offer at all.

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