MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Center District (WCD) has issued temporary layoffs to half of its staff amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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These temporary layoffs affect at least 34 full-time staff members and go into effect immediately.
WCD owns and operates the Wisconsin Center, the Panther Arena, and Miller High Life Theatre. These locations have already had to cancel or postpone over 70 events between now and June.
"Layoffs are always the last course of action and this decision was not made lightly," said Marty Brooks, President and CEO of the WCD. "Efforts to mitigate expenses in other ways simply weren't enough to counteract the deep and sudden loss of revenue due to cancellation and postponement of events because of COVID-19."
The WCD has seen a significant loss of revenue due to the lack of room rentals, audio/visual orders, food and beverage services, city and county hotel taxes, county food and beverage taxes, and a ticket surcharge from events at Fiserv Forum, where WCD is the landlord.
"As dire as the next few months may be, I do feel confident that we will come back even stronger," said Brooks. "The WCD has a full schedule of events from August through the end of the year."