The Ottawa Senators are making temporary layoffs and salary reductions because of COVID-19.
The team’s parent company says the full-time workforce will be reduced starting Sunday, when the NHL club’s season was originally scheduled to end.
Those not laid off could be placed on furlough. Others could have their salaries reduced. Health benefits will continue uninterrupted.
“We will pull through by staying committed together,” owner Eugene Melnyk said. “I look forward to the day when it is safe to reopen our doors and welcome back employees, fans and community partners.”
Meanwhile, Anaheim Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli say they will pay their 2,100 part-time employees across all of their sports and event management companies through June 30 for work that was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Samuelis’ Anaheim Arena Management company operates Honda Center, the Ducks’ home rink. The company also owns two large ice hockey complexes in Orange County — including Great Park Ice, the massive new winter sports facility that houses the Ducks’ training complex in Irvine, California.
The Samuelis own the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Their company also operates JT Schmid’s, a restaurant and bar just across Katella Avenue from Honda Center.
Henry Samueli is a former UCLA professor who became a billionaire after co-founding Broadcom, a semiconductor company, with one of his students. The Samuelis purchased the Ducks from the Walt Disney Company in 2005, two years after creating Anaheim Arena Management to oversee Honda Center’s operations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.