Reason Behind WWE Cuts – WWE HQ firings are being made today because a number of divisions are reportedly set to be folded together and overseen directly by longtime WWE employee Kevin Dunne, who is the Executive Vice President of TV Production.
As noted earlier, “a ton” of WWE employees were being let go today, to the point that multiple people who survived the cuts were shocked and surprised at how important some of the names were. It was reported earlier that the WWE Digital department, which would include the WWE Network, has been “extremely hard hit” with former Executive Vice President of WWE Advanced Media Group Jaylar Donlan among those released after more than 8 years with the company.
In an update, PWInsider reports that another confirmed departure from today’s cuts is Brian Pellegatto, who was working as the Senior Vice President of Production. Pellegatto had been with WWE for just under 9 years after working with ESPN. He worked his way up through WWE and took the SVP of Production title in March 2019.
Regarding today’s cuts, it was noted that the production and digital divisions have both seen heavy departures. Dunn taking over the divisions that are being folded together was expected to be announced to WWE employees later today.
It was noted that one of the reasons for so many cuts is that WWE has determined there were too many redundancies across multiple departments over the last year. One example is that there were two graphics departments – one for WWE TV production and one for digital. Those departments can be easily merged into one, meaning WWE can get that work done with a smaller group of employees.
It was also said that the departures are a ripple effect of the company running under the COVID-19 pandemic, and seeing that they can get by with a much smaller number of employees across the board. A source noted that throughout WWE history, they have shown that they can “cut to the bone” if needed, and still get things done. This is the latest example of that.
There are reportedly a lot of “shell-shocked” employees in WWE today, including those who were cut today, and those who survived the departures. The ones who remain with the company realize that they will have more responsibilities to deal with each day. It was also noted that the WWE Advanced Media Group was “all but destroyed” this afternoon, which has left a lot of people heartbroken as they worked to build the division up.
