Ticketmaster has furloughed hundreds of employees across multiple offices in North America, marking the first major employment cuts at the Live Nation-owned concert company in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
The company is considering additional cost-saving measures, Billboard has learned, as it analyzes the possibility of having little to no revenue in 2020. The furloughs caught some employees by surprise who said they were given assurances on multiple calls that the company would do everything it could to avoid cutting staff.
But officials at Live Nation said the furloughs were only temporary and part of a series of cost-cutting measures announced in an April 13 filing with the SEC that outlined the company’s plans to save $500 million in 2020 through “the reduction in the use of contractors, rent re-negotiations, furloughs, and reduction or elimination of other discretionary spending.”
Company officials also tell Billboard that affected employees will continue to be provided with health benefits and given a one- to three-week payout.
“These are critical employees and we plan to bring everyone back,” one company official said.
This is a developing story and was originally published by Billboard.
