Bobcats Cut 35 Jobs

Hooped Up | September 30, 2008

Basketball operations went unscathed, but the rest of the Charlotte Bobcats organization went through a significant work-force reduction Friday. Bobcats management declined to specify how many employees were laid off, but a source with close ties to the team pegged the number at roughly 35. Team president Fred Whitfield said the team hired a consultant to compare the Bobcats’ work force with those from NBA teams in comparable markets, such as Indianapolis, Memphis and Milwaukee. These cuts were in part a result of that study. “We looked at every piece of our business operation,” Whitfield said Friday afternoon. Whitfield said the team provided severance packages and is in contact with NASCAR and Fox Sports Net, looking to help displaced employees find other positions. The Bobcats took these steps as they approach their fifth season in a tepid market and a weak economy. Whitfield said in a prepared statement Friday morning that “we must become more efficient as a business in this economic climate.”