Josh Harris Cutting Sixers Workers Pay

Sixers managing partner Josh Harris intends on cutting salaried workers' pay.

Transcript

00:00I am not a businessman. Let me get that out of the way. But I have a pretty good innate

00:09understanding of public relations. And one thing that isn't the best idea right now is

00:14a billionaire sports team owner cutting salary for workers, especially when they're the first

00:19to do so publicly and in light of the generosity we've seen from so many professional athletes.

00:24To that point, the 76ers and Devils announced full-time salary employees will be subject

00:29to temporary pay cuts of up to 20% in a move they say is aimed at avoiding layoffs.

00:35Now I get the finances of those organizations will be tremendously impacted by the coronavirus

00:39pandemic. Heck, the NBA itself hasn't fully committed to paying players for the rest of

00:44the season. But there you're talking millions. And with 76ers and Devils owner Joshua Harris,

00:50you're talking billions. $3.7 billion according to Forbes. He paid $280 million for the 76ers.

00:57I was trying to do the math on what percentage of his total value that was, but the calculator

01:02on my phone ran out of characters trying to type in $3.7 billion. He once donated $10

01:06million to Wharton, his alma mater, an inconsequential amount to him that would go a long way for

01:12others. I think he and those franchises can afford a loss. Many workers cannot, which

01:18is why you've seen so many, particularly NBA players, step up to pledge help. Again, I've

01:24got no idea about the business side or what has been done in the past behind the scenes.

01:29But I'll tell you what I do know, such a quick cost cutting move is not going to go over

01:33well when you're talking that kind of wealth.