Recently reported cuts at Cleveland’s House of Blues location appear to have just been the tip of the iceberg, as hundreds have reportedly been furloughed by Live Nation Entertainment as the governmental restrictions on live events continue across the globe.
The Wiltern in Los Angeles lost nearly 700 positions, per Billboard reports citing data available from the California Employment Development Department. Other California venues hit hard included the Fillmore in San Francisco and House of Blues in Anaheim, losing some 325 positions each. Deep cuts also took place in Live Nation regional offices in Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
From Billboard:
“It’s brutal,” said one agent as the news trickled across social media. A company spokesperson acknowledged the furloughs took place, but was unable to comment further. In April the company furloughed and laid off hundreds of employees as a result of the pandemic, followed a series of cuts in May that affected 2,100 of its 10,500 employees across multiple divisions at the company to reduce costs by $600 million.
Live Nation Entertainment has appeared to take a multi-directional approach to the halt on its revenue streams amid the pandemic. With events limited to small scale or drive-through venues, revenue has been minimal – it reported a 98 percent drop compared to the prior year in its Q2 earnings report. It has cut costs by shedding operational staff at its network of venues, but simultaneously been aggressive in its continued expansion efforts, including recently announced corporate shifts at Ticketmaster with global expansion in mind.
