WWE News: Transcript of Conference Call From Vince McMahon to Employees, List of WWE Personnel Released (or Furloughed)
Yesterday will go down as one of the darkest in the history of the WWE because of the company releasing many wrestlers and other personnel. Due to the current health crisis, WWE was forced to either furlough or outright release hundreds of employees including dozens of on screen talents. Before these cuts began, Vince McMahon addressed the entire company by conference call. Fightful was able to obtain a transcript of what was said during that call.
“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.”
It’s unknown if there will be more cuts coming or who may be brought back in the future.
As of this writing here is the complete list of employees that we know have left the WWE at this time according to PWInsider.
WWE SUPERSTARS
Rusev
Kurt Angle (also a Producer for Raw)
Heath Slater
Eric Young
Luke Gallows
Curt Hawkins
Karl Anderson
Lio Rush
EC3
Drake Maverick
Aiden English
Maria Kanellis
Mike Kanellis
Erick Rowan
Epico
Primo
Sarah Logan
Referee Mike Cioda
WWE PRODUCERS RELEASED OR FURLOUGHED
Billy Kidman
Mike Rotunda
Dave Finlay
Pat Buck
Shawn Daivari
Scott Armstrong
Sarah Stock
Shane Helms
Lance Storm
WWE NXT SUPERSTARS
Dan Matha
MJ Jenkins
Deonna Purrazzo
Aleksandar Jaksic
WWE NXT/PERFORMANCE CENTER COACHES
Chris Guy
Serena Deeb
Kendo Kashin
BEHIND THE SCENES
Andrea Listenberger – Writer
Josiah Williams – Digital/Performance Center.
In addition to all of them, there are many people that work for WWE that were likely let go or furloughed as well although many of them are not known by the public. It’s a tough time for everybody.
Matt’s Musings: Rough day, in what has been a rough month for not only the wrestling world but the entire world as a whole. Hopefully everyone who has been affected by this will come out of this situation even stronger and better off.