Sacramento Republic reportedly furloughs large proportion of staff

Some unfortunate news has dropped in recent days, with multiple outlets reporting Sacramento Republic FC furloughed or reduced hours of a significant proportion of team staff late last week as a result of economic pressures.

“More than half” of Sac Republic’s employees are affected, according to the Sacramento Bee, while the Sacramento Business Journal reports the proportion is “most if not all” of about 50 employees in total. In addition, both outlets report team executives are taking a pay cut for an undetermined period.

Unlike teams in other leagues, which opted to — or at least floated the possibility of — furloughs to team staff during the most uncertain stretches of the coronavirus pandemic, when the American economy essentially shut down, the timing of the move for Sac Republic appears to be linked to reduced expectations for the remainder of the 2020 USL Championship season. While the league is expected to restart July 11, with teams playing in their home venues, games will either be played behind closed doors or with drastically reduced crowds, and the apparent lack of matchday revenue to count on led the club to act.

Paradoxically, Sacramento Republic’s success may have hurt them in this respect. As one of a handful of teams in the league that routinely draws over 10,000 fans to each home game, the revenue shortfalls are far bigger than for most clubs in the USL Championship.

Still, it’s a rough spot, perhaps for the club but especially for the employees affected. Hopefully it’s temporary, they can ramp up to full hours and full pay again soon, but obviously it’s hard to find a job in this economy.

If you’re aware of any support efforts for employees affected by the furloughs, let us know, and we will amplify.