Michigan's athletic department eliminates 21 positions in cost-cutting measure
Michigan's athletic department is feeling the squeeze of no college football.
Athletic director Warde Manuel announced Tuesday afternoon the department is eliminating 21 positions while facing "a potential revenue loss of $100 million."
“The decision to implement staffing reductions was not made lightly and is difficult because of the deep impact on all aspects of our department and especially those who are directly affected,” Manuel said in a statement. “We will continue to identify all necessary strategies to mitigate our circumstances, and we will continue to support our dedicated colleagues who have been so greatly affected.”
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The layoffs come in addition to a previously announced hiring freeze that Michigan says has led to 15 unfilled positions since early 2020. The athletic department has also implemented "comprehensive salary freezes and salary reductions ranging between 5 and 10 percent for most employees," while lowering operating and team budgets.
"The department will also further evaluate temporary furloughs and reductions in hours for staff as additional information about competitions and sports season becomes known," the statement released read.
The department had already implemented pay cuts to several high-profile employees, including Manuel, football coach Jim Harbaugh and men's basketball coach Juwan Howard, who each accepted a 10% pay reduction earlier this summer for the 2021 fiscal year.
Layoffs were announced shortly after Manuel said in a podcast released Tuesday morning that the Big Ten's decision to postpone fall sports — including football, Michigan's highest-earning sport — had a "significant financial impact on the department."
During the podcast, Manuel brought up the $100 million figure in potential loss and said the department is hoping to have finalized financial models and predictions "at some point in September."
He also hinted at layoffs.
"Tough, hard, sad decisions have been made as we have to make cuts to expenses to offset the reduction in revenue," Manuel said on the podcast. "And everybody is going through that in our society. One of my closest friends lost his job three weeks ago. And it was hard. It was hard as a close friend. He didn’t lose it because he wasn’t doing his job, he was losing it because the company was losing significant revenue during these times and had to make the decision on his job and other jobs.
"It’s not easy to have to think of all the things we have to give up that we are normally used to having. But that’s where we find ourselves during this time. Difficult choices have to be made in order for the long-term health of the department and the long-term health of the university."
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan athletics eliminates 21 jobs to offset revenue loss
