WFAN parent company Entercom to institute pay cuts, furloughs and layoffs amid economic slowdown
Station signage at the WFAN studios in Manhattan.
Credit: Newsday
Entercom, the parent company of WFAN, announced on Thursday that it would institute layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts as it deals with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is not yet clear how many employees at WFAN will be impacted, but CEO David Field said in a memo to his staff that anyone making in excess of $50,000 a year would face salary reductions for the next three months.
The memo said those reductions would range between 10 and 20 percent.
The New York Post reported the proposed cuts would be tiered based on salary, with 20 percent being asked of those who earn more than $250,000, presumably including WFAN’s biggest names: Boomer Esiason, Gregg Giannotti, Evan Roberts, Joe Benigno and Mike Francesa.
Francesa said on his Radio.com show that management has not yet discussed the matter with him one-on-one.
Hosts who are under contract are not required to accept the cuts, but Field sought to set a tone for employees by announcing he would take a 30 percent salary reduction.
Entercom also said it would temporarily suspend its dividends and 401K company match and eliminate bonuses for the first and second quarters, with the hope of restoring everything in the year’s third quarter.
Last week, WFAN had its contracted weekday hosts fill in on the weekend while putting on hold most shows hosted by non-full-time employees. That is the plan again this weekend.
Field noted that advertising income has been severely impacted by the nationwide business slowdown.
“Better days lie ahead,” he wrote in the memo. “With the tough but necessary actions we are now taking, we are doing what is required for us to preserve the health of the company and ensure that we are strong when we get to the other side.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
