The Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil has always been close to my heart. As someone who does aerial arts, it has been but a dream to be a part of the company. Since that dream was clearly nothing but that, I have always enjoyed watching their shows and marveling at their flawlessness from afar.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, many Cirque du Soleil shows have been canceled and thousands of jobs have been cut, as well. To date, Cirque du Soleil has had to cut 3,500 jobs in order to avoid bankruptcy.
“With zero revenue since the forced closure of all of our shows due to COVID-19, the management had to act decisively,” Daniel Lamarre, Chief Executive Officer of Cirque du Soleil, explains. During this time, the company will try to restructure without 95% of its staff.
The company has also entered an agreement where existing shareholders will take over liabilities and invest $300 million in the business. $200 million will be taken as a loan from the province of Quebec, and $20 million will serve as additional relief to the contractors and employees affected by the decision.
Once business conditions allow it and COVID-19-related shutdowns are lifted, they say that they intend to rehire some of the terminated employees.
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