As part of $600M cost reduction, Live Nation has furloughed approximately 2,000 of its 10,000 workers. The event planner is preparing for a prolonged closure due to COVID-19.
Those furloughs began in late April and affected hundreds of Ticketmaster employees. Starting this week, several Live Nation areas will have furloughs, from social media to concerts and venues teams.
“Given the uncertainty associated with the duration of current conditions globally, the company has launched a number of initiatives to reduce fixed costs and conserve cash,”
Live Nation official statement
Furloughed employees will continue receiving medical benefits, but they won’t earn a salary. The percentage of staffers furloughed has varied by division but generally has been between 15 and 25 percent of employees.
In April Live Nation firstly announced a series of actions to reduce the company’s fixed costs; as the cut of 50% of salary to the high commands of the company. The company is implementing another series of measures such as budget reduction and elimination of travel expenses.
Live Nation plans after the furloughs and other actions.
President and CEO Michael Rapino said the promotion giant ticketing agency is now looking at ways to resume concerts in their fullest form next year.
“Whether it’s in Arkansas or [another] state that is safe, secure and politically fine to proceed in, we’re going to dabble in fan-less concerts with broadcasts and reduced-capacity shows, because we can make the math work”
Michael Rapino, Live Nation CEO
The company believes that customer demand remains intact, as it said that 90% of music fans decided to hold onto tickets when shows were rescheduled. Last week, the event developer announced an $ 800M loan for general corporate purposes. Later, the organizer raised this until $1.2BN.
Two months have passed since the beginning of the cancellation of concerts and there seems to be no end. In addition to our eternal boredom for having nowhere to go. Major companies are beginning to see the negative impact on their money income and jobs. About 40,000 people working in the entertainment industry have lost his job.
