Top WWE personality hints at "aggressive" cuts following Vince McMahon's return
WWE recently kickstarted a new era as the company's sale to Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, was made official. WWE CEO Nick Khan recently teased what the future would look like after the merger later this year, hinting at some budget cuts.
It was revealed earlier this month that Vince McMahon has agreed to sell the global juggernaut to Endeavor. It was also noted that the organization will merge with UFC later this year under a new parent company, with Endeavor holding a 51% controlling interest in that company.
Endeavor COO Shapiro hinted at layoffs following the announcement. Nick Khan from WWE also teased the same during a recent interview with LightShed Live:
"If you look at what Endeavor was able to take out, cost-wise, from UFC in 2016 or shortly after that deal was done, we have the same expectation here. We think 50 (million) is a really conservative number. We have integration teams now, we're going to get those in shape, I think we'll have a better sense of it in a month or two. We're going to be pretty aggressive with them to make sure that, for our shareholders and for our company, our organisation is as lean and mean as possible, and we're going to rely on the Endeavor flywheel to make up the rest."
WWE Expected To Make "Aggressive Cuts" Following Merger With UFC
Nick Khan told LightShed Partners:
"If you look at what Endeavor was able to take out, cost-wise, from UFC in 2016 or shortly after that deal was done, we have the same expectation here. We think 50 (million) is… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/fPSCmaMDdl
Nick Khan noted that the layoffs won't affect WWE programming
During the same interview, Nick Khan noted that the cuts are expected to affect office employees, and the decision regarding talent will be made by Triple H and Kevin Dunn:
"The most important thing is to leave the product untouched. Untouched, meaning, if Triple H and Kevin Dunn want to evolve it, great, but in terms of cutbacks there, that’s not what we’re looking to do." (H/T Sescoops)
Nick Khan says that Triple H is still in full control of WWE creative. https://t.co/HWxFl7OqlW
Khan has already revealed that the creative power lies with Triple H. The WWE CEO added that Hunter can always ask Vince McMahon for his advice, or the latter can communicate with the 14-time world champion if he has certain pitches.