The lay-offs are direct results of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the university.

The University of Michigan has announced that they've had to fire 21 employees from their athletics department as they are projected to lose about $100 million this year with the postponement of the fall sports season.

Associate athletic director Kurt Svoboda told MLive that the cuts were all from the administrative side of the staff and that they were not based on performance.

An email that was sent to the members of the department also says that they will NOT be filling 15 jobs that recently opened up.

“Staff reductions are always painful, particularly when those affected are our close colleagues and friends you may have worked alongside for many years. These decisions were not made lightly, and I and the Leadership TEAM are aware of the stress and anxiety this process has created over the last few months. The evaluation and decision-making process for evaluating these positions was deliberate and thorough. It included looking at current and projected workloads, staff’s ability to assume additional responsibilities, and a deep look at what initiatives we can continue to support and afford as an athletic department. I want you to know that we intend to give all of those employees who are impacted our full support to transition to other roles here at the University or elsewhere.”

The department has tried to recoup their losses already by cutting the salaries of staff and coaches by 10% a couple of months ago.

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