UFC såldes tidigare för 34 miljarder kronor till WME-IMG (William Morris Endeavour-International Management Group). Nu kommer man att varsla ca 15 procent av organisationens personal, med 400 anställda i Las Vegas, London, Toronto, Sao Paulo och Singapore.
Bland de anställda finns ett flertal högt uppsatta personer som varit med under en längre tid, bland andra Gary Cook:
•Marshall Zelaznik, ten years with the UFC: Formerly the president of the London office and until today chief content officer, who spearheaded the creation of UFC Fight Pass.
•Gary Cook, four years with the UFC: Former head of operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and until todat chief global brand officer and head of international business development.
•Ken Berger, three years with the UFC: Executive vice president and general manager of Asia.
•Jamie Pollack, twelve years with the UFC: Senior vice president of Global Content.
•Shanda Maloney: Social media director.
•Ed Muncey, Senior vice president of technology.
•Brad Smuckler, Controller.
Det här hade Cook att säga i ett meddelande:
This has been a magnificent experience with one of the greatest sports enterprises of the modern day. I am thankful and proud to have played a part in their brand story working with Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White, Lawrence Epstein and all the talented individuals at the UFC.
With the new leadership from WME/IMG the next era of continuing to redefine the global sports landscape is very exciting. I wish them well delivering on their vision for success.
Det här berättade Steven Marrocco, via ’MMAJunkie’:
Layoffs will come in multiple departments, including sponsorships, licensing, public relations and production, though there are no immediate plans to reduce the UFC’s event schedule. Part of WME-IMG’s plan upon acquiring the promotion was to utilize its expertise in live event production, an additional source said.
Over the past three weeks, multiple senior executives have departed the UFC, including longtime UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and Giovanni Decker, vice president and general manager in Brazil. This past week, Dave Sholler, vice president of public relations, athlete marketing and development, announced he is leaving the company to take a job in the communications department for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.
I Kina varslar man 50 procent av personalen.
Update on our UFC biz discussion on yesterday’s #themmahour: I’m told around half of the UFC’s Asia office has been let go.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 18, 2016
