Penguins announce furloughs for employees
The Penguins announced Tuesday they will place several employees on furlough due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has halted play in the NHL for more than two months.
In a statement, the team indicated the unpaid furloughs will last four months beginning June 1. Employees will continue to receive full health benefits and will be eligible for unemployment and stimulus benefits.
In addition, team president and CEO David Morehouse will be taking a 50% pay reduction, and executives and coaches will face a 25% reduction.
There was no word as to the number of employees impacted by this decision. A team spokesperson declined comment beyond issuing a statement.
Staffers were told of the decision by Morehouse via a video conference Monday.
“With the continued uncertainty of the covid-19 pandemic and its growing impact on our business, I have made the very painful decision to reduce our operations to help us weather this unprecedented health and financial crisis,” Morehouse said in the statement.
“These decisions are extremely difficult, but they are necessary for us to endure this crisis and to be able to resume our position as one of the best teams in sports whenever hockey returns. My hope is that hockey will resume in the relatively near future, and that we will be back operating with an increased staff.”
The NHL has not played games since March 12, and the ongoing stoppage remains indefinite. Many NHL teams, though not all, have announced similar workforce reductions.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.