SALT LAKE CITY — The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, which includes the Utah Jazz, Vivint Smart Home Arena and The Zone Sports Radio Network, have begun laying off a small percentage of its workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact revenue.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported the news, the layoffs are limited to nonbasketball employees.
Though layoffs don’t appear to have touched the basketball operations staff of the Utah Jazz, that doesn’t necessarily mean all basketball-adjacent jobs are safe as layoffs within Jazz business operations, in-arena employees and The Zone have already begun.
Tony Parks, the Utah Jazz in-arena emcee who also hosted a show on 1280 The Zone, emceed Salt Lake Bees games and was the announcer for the G-League affiliate SLC Stars, was among those let go.
The specific number of employees, or which companies had already started to cut their workforce was not revealed to the Deseret News when requested, though a spokesperson referred to the layoffs as a “small percentage” in a prepared statement.
“Due to the impact on our customer-facing businesses from this unprecedented pandemic, the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, of which the Utah Jazz are a part, unfortunately had to make difficult decisions to reduce a small percentage of our workforce,” the statement read. “Over the past several weeks, we have worked to manage and reduce costs, including executive compensation, and have reached a point where we have had to say farewell to a limited number of our valued employees. We have connected our associates with outplacement services and aligned them with employers who have immediate hiring needs. We remain focused on helping our communities stay healthy.”
Many companies under the Larry H. Miller umbrella, including movie theaters, car dealerships and others that depend on customer traffic, have had to shutter their doors as the COVID-19 crisis has forced people to physically distance and stay at home.