USA Cycling's President and CEO Rob DeMartini announced Friday that the governing body has made the difficult but necessary decision to reduce staff size by 15 per cent and place an additional 25 per cent on a temporary furlough in anticipation of a 30 per cent revenue loss due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
"Effective today, we reduced the size of our staff by 15 percent and furloughed another 25 percent for 2-6 months,” read a statement from DeMartini.
"The remaining members of our organization are stepping up to help navigate these challenging times and continue to support our mission to serve American cycling."
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DeMartini did not specify which of the currently 70-person work-force would be affected by the staff reductions and furloughs, but told Sports Business Journal that affected employees would be provided with health insurance coverage for 90 days.
USA Cycling had $14.9 million in revenue in 2018, with about two-thirds coming from membership, sanctioning, camps and clinics. Reports; Form 990 and financial statements for the end of 2018 are published on USA Cycling's website.
In the press statement, DeMartini said that the budget set for 2020, approved by the board, could not have anticipated the realities amid the coronavirus pandemic. USA Cycling has cancelled or postponed all events through May 3, and with a further extension, it anticipates 775 events being impacted.
In addition, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games has further reduced the planned sponsorship budget.
All together, USA Cycling anticipates the 2020 revenue shortfall to be in excess of 30 per cent, read the press statement.
"I am grateful for your membership in our community and support of USA Cycling and assure you we are unwavering in our commitment to serve this sport at all levels," DeMartini said. "We will emerge stronger from these difficult times."
USA Cycling will remain committed to the following services:
- Support the sport of cycling across all disciplines for riders and racers.
- Send a team of athletes to Tokyo in 2021 who are even stronger and more prepared to earn medals than if we had sent them this July.
- Support grassroots riding and racing so it is available in every corner of this country on any surface you prefer.
- Continue to provide community leadership for this sport we all love so much
