Sixers, Devils back down on temporary salary cuts for employees

Bowing to public pressure Tuesday afternoon, the parent company of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils reversed a planned 20% pay cut for the teams’ salaried employees announced earlier in the day.

“Our commitment has been to do our best to keep all of our employees working through this very difficult situation,” Josh Harris, founder of Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, said in a statement.  

“After listening to our staff and players, it’s clear that was the wrong decision. We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salaries. This is an extraordinary time in our world – unlike any most of us have ever lived through before – and ordinary business decisions are not enough to meet the moment. To our staff and fans, I apologize for getting this wrong.”

Upon learning of the planned salary cuts, Sixers star Joel Embiid — who had already pledged $500,000 to coronavirus medical relief — committed to helping team employees who would have suffered financial hardships.

After the announcement, Embiid was one of the first to praise the team for “doing a 180.”

As part of an effort to do that we asked salaried employees to take a temporary 20% pay cut while preserving everyone’s full benefits — and keeping our 1500 hourly workers paid throughout the regular season. 

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