U.S. Soccer executed wide-ranging layoffs as the non-profit organization undergoes an extensive reshuffle.
According to The Athletic , 30 employees ranging from the marketing, sales, sporting, refereeing, and coaching departments were fired on Tuesday. Considering U.S. Soccer currently boasts a workforce of approximately 340 people, the substantial cuts make up around 9% of the enterprise.
The timing of the layoffs comes as a bit of a surprise, considering U.S. Soccer is currently enjoying a period of rapid financial growth. In the final year of its contract with Soccer United Marketing, the organization brought in $32 million of commercial revenue. In the current financial year, however, it is projected to earn $110 million - marking a monster jump of 243 percent in just two years.
Last month, the U.S. Soccer Federation additionally announced that Mauricio Pochettino will be taking over as the USMNT boss , signing a record-breaking two-year contract that will run through the 2026 World Cup. According to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle , the Argentine will receive $6 million per year to manage the team - a significant increase from the earnings of past managers Gregg Berhalter in 2022 ($2.3 million) and USWNT coach Emma Hayes ($1.6 million).
Departing employees first received hints that their days at U.S. Soccer could be numbered after a select few received calendar invitations for one-on-one meetings with their direct supervisors earlier this week. An additional meeting organized by chief executive officer JT Batson was slated to center around “relocation packages (and) the approach to the timing of relocations” from the company’s Chicago office to its new headquarters in Atlanta.
“We pretty much knew that some of us would be ‘invited’ to Atlanta, and some of us wouldn’t make the cut, so to speak,” an anonymous source told The Athletic. “This was basically weighing on all of us for over a month already, and then the invite stuff happened - it was very, very hard to deal with.”
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Another insider added: “It was obvious what was about to happen. Some of the rooms had windows blacked out, but we’d all seen the setup beforehand, with the tissues and the water bottles.”
An official separation letter given to U.S. Soccer staff that were laid off read: “As U.S. Soccer formalizes plans to move our headquarters, training, and operations/warehousing functions to the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, we have determined that your employment with U.S. Soccer will end, effective today.”
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Those sticking with the company met with Batson and other U.S. Soccer executives later in the day to discuss relocation packages. “I want to start by acknowledging that today is a difficult day for a number of our colleagues whose last day is today,” Batson began.
“And obviously these are our friends, folks that we feel are very valuable parts of the U.S. Soccer family now and going forward. I want to make sure as we go forward that we all continue to support them and give them the same love and support as if they were showing up to work tomorrow.”
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