TORONTO, 17 September 2004 — Around 150 NHL staff have been laid off hours after the league’s lockout of players on Wednesday as the impact of the labor dispute was immediately felt in job losses.
Shortly after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement at a New York news conference, CBC reported that approximately half of the league’s 300-strong office staff in Toronto, Montreal and New York had already received their layoff notices.
“The terminations take effect Sept. 20 and those remaining until that date will receive a severance package commensurate with their length of service,” the channel said.
The owners voted to impose the lockout after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with players.
The dispute could wipe out the entire NHL season and is the biggest crisis to hit the sport in a decade. Over the next few days the fallout over the lockout is likely to spread with the league’s 30 teams expected to trim staff to skeleton levels, according to US and Canadian media reports.
Ironically, the CBC could also be badly hit by the work stoppage. According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, the CBC will lose between $55-million and $60-million from its NHL telecasts if the lockout lasts the entire season. No hockey would also leave gaping holes in the network’s programming and put hundreds more out of work, including some of Canada’s best-known sport commentators, said the paper.
The lockout will have less of an impact in the United States, where the NHL lags way behind the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball in popularity. Bettman removed any hope the season might open on schedule on Oct. 13 saying he had informed arenas to release dates reserved for NHL games for at least the next month.
Vendors, arena staff, parking lot attendants, local sports bars, restaurants and concession holders can expect to feel an impact with most venues unable to fill nearly 80 NHL dates. Many players have prepared for the lockout by signing contracts to play in Europe.
Others have agreed to play in a four-on-four league known as the Original Stars Hockey League that will criss-cross North America playing exhibition games that may begin as early as today.
