Panthers Institute Layoffs Due To Lockout
SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – The NHL lockout is a little more than 48 hours old, but has already started claiming victims with the Florida Panthers organization.
The team announced Tuesday that it was instituting "staff adjustments" due to the "NHL's work stoppage." The Panthers didn't announce how many people were let go in the layoffs.
Teams typically lay off some personnel or ask for pay cuts, as the Miami Dolphins did during last year's NFL lockout.
The Panthers released a statement to go along with the cuts that read in part: "We thank all of those former staff members for their efforts, while Sunshine Sports & Entertainment human resources department has volunteered to work with these former staff members to assist them in finding new employment."
The NHL's lockout was instituted by the owners after a collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players Association couldn't be reached. The owners want players to drop their percentage of hockey-related revenue by as much as 10 percent, while the players want a guarantee the salary pool won't drop below $1.8 billion.
Both sides have been unwilling to budge thus far and the lockout has put the NHL on ice.
Since 1992, the NHL has lost just less than 1,700 games due to work stoppages, by far the most of any professional sports league. The NHL lost an entire season in 2004-05 due to labor strife and has struggled to elevate itself back into the mainstream sports consciousness.
