MOORESVILLE, NC — NASCAR downsized dozens of employees Friday, culling employee numbers through “major layoffs,” according to multiple reports. The move comes as the sanctioning body continues to face declines in ticket sales and viewers, and month before the 2019 race season kickoff.
“Major layoffs are occurring today at NASCAR, per sources,” SportsBusiness Journal motorsport reporter Adam Stern tweeted. “The layoffs are hitting multiple different departments in competition and business.” The move was part of a merger of the NASCAR sanctioning body with International Speedway Corporation (ISC), Stern said.
The merger aims to join the sport sanctioning body with ISC, which owns 12 race tracks, into one privately held company, ESPN reported in November.
News of layoffs was echoed by AP motorsports reporter Jenna Fryer, who tweeted that she was hearing the number of layoff was around 50. “As I hear more and more names out at NASCAR, I feel like this is cutting numbers and becoming more attractive to a buyer,” she tweeted. “Some of these people being let go are NASCAR lifers.”
NASCAR and the motorsports industry employ about 25,000 people in the greater Charlotte metro region, which is home to about 90 percent of NASCAR teams, according to the North Carolina Motorsports Association, WBTV reported. The sport generates about $6 billion in economic impact for the region annually.
Despite the November claim that NASCAR-ISC merger was a sign of France family “doubling down” on their commitment, it sure feels like this is being packaged for a sale.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) January 11, 2019
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Main photo: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)