Rockets Owner Lays Off 40,000 workers

[The_Hater]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/3/26/21193966/tilman-fertitta-layoffs-houston-rockets-owner-covid

Man, I really hope Rockets Neverr Ever win another title.

He did not fire his employees so you need to Fix your title.

Also, he’s only doing exactly what most businesses and especially restaurant chains are doing, laying off workers so they can collect unemployment insurance. And once this thing blows over he will bring them back.

I’m not a fan of Fertitta but your entire post here is irresponsible.

[TheWitcher]

Easy to complain but even if those workers only make an average of $200 each a week that’s 8 mil on salary per week for nothing.

It's actually more than that when you count in insurance, benefits, workman's comp, etc.

[ImSlower]

My restaurant owner "fired" all of us two weeks ago tomorrow. We all understood it was for filing. He is not rich, it's a small place and he is about as month-to-month as the rest of us. Once this global catastrophe stabilizes, we will be hired back.

[Plutonashfan]

Dude is cheap owner,a sleazeball and is terrible human being but his doing what most of what these business are doing. With that said he should have paid them out for two weeks and told them if it lasted any longer he would do this. He could stand to take the hit. It takes time to get unemployment think DMV.

[Sports Realist]

So?

They weren't fired, dummie.

[INKtastic]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/3/26/21193966/tilman-fertitta-layoffs-houston-rockets-owner-covid

Man, I really hope Rockets Neverr Ever win another title.

you do realize that congress just passed a bill that means these 40,000 people are worse off financially if they aren't laid off while there is no work, right? And that they need the company to survive to have a job again when this crisis is over, right?

I own a small business. 3 weeks ago we were having our best year and actively hiring. Overnight that changed.

The absolute hardest decision I ever made in the 12 years owned the business (and it's not even close) was the decision to lay off most of our staff earlier this week during this crisis. We cut down to a minimal staff and are actively killing off our sales to do what's right. I broke down after I made that decision. Then got in my car and drove 18 hours so I help fill in with production to get minimal orders out to keep the doors open. I'm taking that risk so the people we laid off don't have to.

Two things drove that decision

1 - I refused to put our employees at risk by having them all work through a health crisis. I'm personally taking on the health risk of leaving my house just to go to work so they don't have to. I simply couldn't live with myself had I done it the other way around.
2 - in the long term we help our now former employees more by ensuring the company survives so we can hire them back. We have every intention of hiring them back. We're bleeding money until this is over, we're trying to contain the bleed so company doesn't die.

And since we made that tough decision, congress passed a bill where they now are better off financially while laid off. This is a huge load off of our mind. Helps us wait until things are safe again before we bring them back.

Company survives, the people we laid off don't suffer financially.

Extremely difficult decisions and extremely hard work to do what's best for everyone.

The whole idea that employers are evil and out to screw over employees needs to end. It's agonizing to make these kinds of decisions, so much to weigh, especially when most of us think of our company as part of our family.

edit to add: Another factor in our decision is the uncertainty of how long this will last, we are projecting out until the end of July in a plan for the worst, hope for the best. Congress just passed a bill that covers until the end of June, so that estimate must not be too far off what they are projecting.

We'd take a whole different approach if this was going to be over on 2 weeks. I imagine the Rockets owner would as well.

[Fencer reregistered]

I don't see anything morally wrong with this at all. He has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders. He needs to protect the business first and foremost.

You may not like this reality of capitalism, but it's the truth.

Actually, he's the sole shareholder.

Even if he weren't, we could have a discussion about the moral obligations of the shareholders as a group.

The kernel of truth in what you said is that the moral obligations of a company and of its shareholders are pretty indistinguishable from each other.

[Cactus Jack]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/3/26/21193966/tilman-fertitta-layoffs-houston-rockets-owner-covid

Man, I really hope Rockets Neverr Ever win another title.

I mean can’t you just wish he sells the team? Which is what almost EVERY SINGLE rockets fan wants? Why wish that evil on us?

Even my grandmother wants him to sell the team cause he’s scum

(And this ones understandable, but he is scum)

Can I wish he'd move it instead!?

[First Step]

I don't see anything morally wrong with this at all. He has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders. He needs to protect the business first and foremost.

You may not like this reality of capitalism, but it's the truth.

Actually, he's the sole shareholder.

Even if he weren't, we could have a discussion about the moral obligations of the shareholders as a group.

The kernel of truth in what you said is that the moral obligations of a company and of its shareholders are pretty indistinguishable from each other.

Businesses are not charities. They are designed to make a profit. Employees are given wages in exchange for labor. Regardless of equity distribution, someone still either exchanged money or labor for those shares. So whether he owns 100% of the company or not is irrelevant to whether it's a business's responsibility is to float salaries for uncertain periods of time to unnecessary workers.

Unfortunately, there is no morality in business. There are only laws and regulations. Everything else is cutthroat. When companies treat their employees well, they do so because it makes their employees more productive, not out of some moral standard the company wants to live by. A healthy business operates on a 15% net margin. Most companies don't have money to waste on social issues if it isn't directly impacting their bottom line.

[RIP Kobe]

Easy to complain but even if those workers only make an average of $200 each a week that’s 8 mil on salary per week for nothing.

Exactly. Even though he is very wealthy most of his money is most likely invested into the business. It's very doubtful he has bigs amounts of money just sitting in bank so no way he could pay potentially hundreds of millions for very little to no return. Some of these people need a reality check in this forum.

nah it's easier to just bitch about it online when it's not your own money you're dealing with.

[Fencer reregistered]

Are there ANY circumstances under which you'd recognize moral obligations other than those encoded in laws or regulations?

I don't see anything morally wrong with this at all. He has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders. He needs to protect the business first and foremost.

You may not like this reality of capitalism, but it's the truth.

Actually, he's the sole shareholder.

Even if he weren't, we could have a discussion about the moral obligations of the shareholders as a group.

The kernel of truth in what you said is that the moral obligations of a company and of its shareholders are pretty indistinguishable from each other.

Businesses are not charities. They are designed to make a profit. Employees are given wages in exchange for labor. Regardless of equity distribution, someone still either exchanged money or labor for those shares. So whether he owns 100% of the company or not is irrelevant to whether or it's a business's responsibility is to float salaries for uncertain periods of time to unnecessary workers.

Unfortunately, there is no morality in business. There are only laws and regulations. Everything else is cutthroat. When companies treat their employees well, they do so because it makes their employees more productive, not out of some moral standard the company wants to live by. A healthy business operates on a 15% net margin. Most companies don't have money to waste on social issues if it isn't directly impacting their bottom line.

[lobosloboslobos]

https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/list

[CodeBreaker]

Damn, I feel bad for the workers

[First Step]

Are there ANY circumstances under which you'd recognize moral obligations other than those encoded in laws or regulations?

I'll say this... It's easy to be virtuous with Fertittas money.

[OneLifeLoveKing]

His entire portfolio is sports, events, and hospitality.

Of course he needs to do something to keep afloat. It's his responsibility. Temporary laying off rather than firing is a good move

[bran muffin]

Thread title needs to be changed

OP's goal is to bait people into a circle jerk of outrage. So the rage-bait title is perfect for what he's trying to accomplish.

[iLLmatic860]

Why on earth would you wish the Rockets never win a title? The fans have nothing to do with this.

If you're going to wish for something, you can wish for anything. Wish for his personal wealth to disappear, forcing him to sell the team.

Knicks fans receive constant hate because of Dolan but nobody sympathizes for us lol

[bran muffin]

I don't understand why this is wrong. Business is business.

And yet this very forum was full of outrage last week when the Sixers tried to pay their coaching and front office staff "only" 80% of their full salary.

When millions of wage workers living paycheck-to-paycheck are getting furloughed or fired during a world-wide crisis... sports fans somehow got outraged that these (relatively) wealthy NBA Coaches and Front Office staff would not be receiving the exact 100.0% amount of their six figure salaries.

Think about the full 100.0% salaries people demanded Fetita (and other owners) to pay their coaches right now, while laying off wage workers en masse.

[jwise44]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/3/26/21193966/tilman-fertitta-layoffs-houston-rockets-owner-covid

Man, I really hope Rockets Neverr Ever win another title.

I mean can’t you just wish he sells the team? Which is what almost EVERY SINGLE rockets fan wants? Why wish that evil on us?

Even my grandmother wants him to sell the team cause he’s scum

(And this ones understandable, but he is scum)

Can I wish he'd move it instead!?

Dude, you can’t do that to me! Well wish together that another team is moved there, or better yet they get a brand new team and no one has to move!

I want basketball back in Seattle, too

[Pharmcat]

I don't see anything morally wrong with this at all. He has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders. He needs to protect the business first and foremost.

You may not like this reality of capitalism, but it's the truth.

Then no company should get this stimulus money...because that goes against capitalism

Well if you want companies that employ millions of Americans to go under, then don't provide the stimulus. When a company goes under, those jobs die. They aren't reallocated to another organization where that worker can get re-hired.

It's normal business practice to reduce the burn of your company when your organization is facing an economic crisis.

Im not arguing any of that at the moment...all Im saying is no one can really play the capitalism card when all these companies are going to get bailed out with this stimulus package funded by the taxpayers