Early Report Suggests WWE Released 55 Employees

Due to its report of its second quarter earnings, Thursday, July 31, was anticipated to be a dark day for WWE. For one, the company had to update the amount of subscribers to the WWE Network. WWE would announce it only achieved a net gain of 33,000 subscribers to the WWE Network. Additionally, mass layoffs were expected, which could have hit 10 percent of the company. As we previously reported, Vince McMahon has already finished the staff reduction process.

F4WOnline has published an update on the situation, reporting that roughly 55 people were let go by WWE. By letting go of 55 people, around seven percent of the work force is gone. This was done in order to prevent a significant drop in stocks for July 31. On April 7 of this year, when WWE first revealed the amount of subscribers to the WWE Network, its stock fell hard.

However, as previously mentioned, WWE actually gained .39 on the stock market on July 31. This is an increase of 3.23 percent. In its report, F4WOnline notes that due to its cost cutting and lowering overhead, WWE was able to improve on the stocks.

For now, the only known staff reduction is the WWE Magazine department. The whole department was reportedly let go, and the last issue of WWE Magazine published by WWE will be the October edition. Ricardo Rodriguez was released on the day prior, Wednesday, July 30. However, it is unknown if it was Rodriguez’s or WWE’s decision to come to terms on a release.

Editor’s Note

55 people? Wow, the number doesn’t scream at you, but that’s a lot for WWE’s standards. Seven percent of any work force being let go is staggering.