Wellington, May 27: New Zealand Cricket is looking to cut its workforce by 10-15 per cent and save NZ$ 6 million in operational expenses in order to deal with the ‘challenges’ posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, Chief Executive David White said on Wednesday.
White said that he had informed NZC’s 80 staff on Wednesday about the planned cuts, which would allow the board to maintain funding levels at provincial and district levels, and avoid shrinking the domestic schedule.
‘We have our priorities for the year which we’re not compromising and we’re investing in those. The cuts are coming from NZC, $6 million, of which $1.5m is staff,’ White was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.
White assured that players and staff for the national men’s Black Caps and women’s White Ferns teams would not be affected by the cost-cutting measures and the players’ annual retainers will be as forecast for the coming season.
New Zealand have begun easing social restrictions in recent weeks with Covid-19 cases slowing to a trickle, and sports have been given the green light to restart domestic competitions.
However, NZC is expecting ‘significant reduction’ in revenues for the current financial year, with travel curbs and border controls throwing the international schedule into doubt.
New Zealand is likely to host Australia amid a trans-Tasman bubble in November, in all likelihood, behind closed doors. The country is also scheduled to host the the Women’s World Cup in February-March next year.
“What we are experiencing is what I imagine most businesses in New Zealand are experiencing at the moment,” White said.
“It’s a really challenging situation and we’ve just got to work through it the best we can to ensure NZ Cricket remains strong and viable, and all our members do as well,” he added.
NZC’s proposed cuts have come in the wake of several rounds of job losses in Australian cricket in recent weeks.
Cricket Australia has already stood down 80 percent of its staff and is facing losses losses worth more than 300 million Australian dollars if India doesn’t tour Down Under in the summer.
