No Astros furloughs; staff to be paid through Oct.

June 16th, 2020

HOUSTON -- Astros owner Jim Crane informed team employees via video conference call on Tuesday that there would be no furloughs and that club staff would continue to be paid through Oct. 31, with the highest-paid employees -- those making $100,000 or more -- taking pay cuts.

“We decided we were going to pay all of our people through Oct. 31, with no furloughs or job cuts,” Crane told MLB.com on Tuesday. “Anybody under [a $100,000 salary] would receive 100 percent of their pay. The higher-paid people would take cuts at various levels, but we didn’t announce those things. But it’s similar to some stuff that’s out there. I think that was a big relief to the staff.”

Crane said he had been holding off on addressing the employees until Major League Baseball has a firm plan to return this summer after being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. That is still being worked out, but Crane said the team will soon up its on-site staff to 50 percent of work capacity, with employees working one week from home and then one in the office.

“If we do fire up, we’re ready to hit the ground running,” Crane said.