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Online ticket resale firm StubHub confirmed on Wednesday that it had put a significant portion of its workforce on unpaid leave. Some 450 employees, two-thirds of StubHub's workforce, were affected, Business Insider reported.
The big picture: StubHub is just one of many tech companies whose business has dried up overnight because the coronavirus has decimated a wide swath of industries, from entertainment to travel to health and beauty.
What they're saying: A StubHub representative confirmed the move, but declined to say how many people were put on leave.
- "We continue to support our customers and partners and look forward to a time when we are able to return to the joy of live events and the special, human connections that come with them," the company said in a statement.
Context: The move comes as all the major professional and college sports leagues have come to a halt and half the country is sheltering in place in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
- For those who had bought tickets for events that were canceled, StubHub has been offering customers a coupon worth 120% of the value of the ticket.
Meanwhile:
- TripActions laid off a chunk of its staff via a mass Zoom conference call.
- Salesforce, on the other hand, pledged it wouldn't have significant layoffs over the next three months as the company — and the country — try to ride out the outbreak.
- Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei told the Wall Street Journal most employees of his company are back at work but that he’s still expecting it to take a financial hit this year as a result of the pandemic.