As the Major League Baseball season resumed following the All-Star Break, a large portion of one team’s employees were told that their employment with the team is nearing its end.
The Oakland Athletics are in their final months in Oakland, which has been their home since 1968. Presently, the plan is for the A’s to begin playing in Las Vegas in 2028. From 2025-2027, they will play in Sacramento. And with the change in scenery, the team will be letting go of potentially half of its employees.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the specifics.
“Right after the All-Star Game, the Oakland Athletics got to work giving a good chunk of their employees notice,” Slusser wrote. “According to sources, the team has informed as many as 50% of their non-baseball operations staff that they will be out of work starting Oct. 31, with ticket services, finance, stadium operations, marketing, sales, legal and community relations especially affected.
One employee summed up the situation bluntly.
“‘This is all awful,’ said one longtime employee in one department that is effectively being eliminated. ‘This is beyond awful.’”
The news isn’t surprising. This happens pretty much every time a team leaves its city. But it makes a situation — which has already earned a great deal of criticism — feel even worse.
[SFChronicle.com (full article behind paywall)]