Blues Announce Layoffs and Reduced Hours

The painful reality of the lockout has reached St. Louis. While the owners and players remain at a standstill over how to share millions if not billions in revenue, regular employees with no say in the matter are losing their jobs. Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch reports that the Blues have cut roughly 20 employees and have reduced hours and/or cut salary on all remaining staff.

This is the biggest reason why fans should be against the lockout. Sure, we all miss the actual game of hockey but the fact the a lockout can disrupt so many families for no reason is disgraceful. At the end of the day, the players and owners will still get paid. Those that lost their jobs in the St. Louis organization or one of the other organizations around the NHL may struggle to find a new position. These are the individuals that suffer the most and are the ones that you should feel for.

Rutherford mentioned that of the roughly 20 that were let go, about half were in sales. One would have to imagine that someone in sales would have all but assumed there job was in jeopardy in the event of a lockout but that doesn’t make dealing with it any easier.

As for those that weren’t axes, they now have to deal with reduced hours or reduced salaries or potentially both. The situation isn’t pretty for any person involved.

Remember these folks when discussing the lockout. They are the true victims. We might be upset by the lack of hockey on our televisions but these are the people that have their lives flipped upside down for no justifiable reason.