SXSW has been forced to let 50 employees go in the wake of their cancellation.
The City of Austin took the step of cancelling this year's event, which was due to kick off next week.
Clash was set to host a party and report on site, but those plans – like so many others – have been dashed.
Our thoughts are with the 50 employees who SXSW have let go, a figure that accounts for around a third of their total full time work force.
SXSW LLC issued a statement to the Austin Statesman, commenting:
"Due to the City of Austin’s unprecedented and unexpected cancellation of the SXSW 2020 events in March, SXSW has been rigorously reviewing our operations, and we are in the unimaginable position of reducing our workforce."
"Today we said goodbye to approximately one-third of our full-time staff. Those of us in the business of live events know the level of trust required to execute an event of SXSW’s scale, and we are deeply sad to let people go this soon. We are planning for the future and this was a necessary, but heartbreaking, step."
SXSW Managing Director Roland Swenson previously revealed to the Austin Statesman that their insurance doesn't cover "bacterial infections, communicable diseases, viruses and pandemics" – in all, the festival could lose tens of millions of dollars.
(via Variety)
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