U.S. Soccer on Tuesday laid off up to 30 employees in a major reorganization ahead of its move from Chicago to a new headquarters in metro Atlanta.
According to multiple federation officials who spoke to The Athletic, the cuts were felt across the organization, including marketing, sales, athletics, officiating and coaching departments. U.S. Soccer currently employs about 340 people, and the layoffs could represent about 9% of the workforce.
Some employees were immediately laid off, while others were given a termination date of April 2025 and will remain employed until then. Separately, a number of other employees were offered relocation packages and invited to continue their employment at the federation’s new headquarters in Fayetteville, Georgia, scheduled to open in 2026. Those employees were given 60 days to decide whether to relocate.
The layoffs come as the federation, which operates as a nonprofit company, is experiencing a surge in revenue. In the final year of its contract with Soccer United Marketing, U.S. Soccer (USSF) earned $32 million in commercial revenue, The Athletic recently reported, but projections for the current fiscal year ending March 31 are It has further increased to $110 million. A 243% increase in two years.
The USSF recently appointed Mauricio Pochettino as the highest-paid head coach of the men’s national team in history, thanks to a donation from billionaire businessman Ken Griffin.
Mauricio Pochettino was recently named the new head coach of the USMNT (Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)
Tuesday’s meeting and eventual layoffs were first mentioned to staff in an Aug. 27 email from USSF Chief Executive Officer JT Batson. Batson said in an email, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, that the meeting would focus on “approaches to relocation packages (and) relocation timing” and provide further information on transitions and financial services. said. But within days, many employees at the federation’s Chicago headquarters felt differently about the content of the meeting.
That anxiety increased earlier this week when staffers received calendar invites for one-on-one meetings with their direct managers. Those invitations included the federation’s human resources department, and staff could quickly confirm that employees who received those invitations would be terminated.
“We pretty much knew that some of us would be ‘invited’ to Atlanta,” one source, like others in this article, said, adding that the situation was confidential. The person spoke on condition of anonymity. Create a cut, so to speak. Basically this weighed on all of us for over a month and then the invitation thing happened and it was very difficult to deal with. ”
The federation brought in an external human resources agency to assist with the reduction in staff. “It was clear what was going to happen,” said another source. “The windows were blacked out in some rooms, but we all saw ahead of time that there were tissues and water bottles.”
Sources said that during these meetings, human resources personnel were gathering the belongings of each employee who was summarily fired. These employees were not allowed to return to their desks and were escorted out of the building. As companies often do during large-scale layoffs, the federation had security guards on hand.
Employees who were fired were also given separation letters, which The Athletic obtained.
“As of today, we are pleased to announce that U.S. Soccer and U.S. Soccer officially announce their plans to relocate their corporate headquarters, training, and operations/warehousing functions to the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia. has decided to terminate his employment.” The letter also outlines two to four months of severance pay for affected employees.
Later that day, the remaining Federation staff were informed of the details of the relocation package in a 2:30 p.m. meeting with Batson and other USSF executives in the office kitchen of the Federation’s Chicago headquarters.
“I want to start by acknowledging that this is a difficult day for many of my colleagues, who are on their last day,” Batson said in audio of the meeting obtained by The Athletic. “And obviously, these are people who are our friends and who we feel are an invaluable part of the U.S. Soccer family now and in the future as we move forward. , we all want to continue to support them and give them the same love and support as if we were going to work tomorrow.”
USSF Chief Executive Officer JT Batson addresses staff at a meeting on Tuesday (Luke Hales/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
Minutes later, Batson addressed officials about the association’s financial health, saying U.S. Soccer “will make more money this year than ever before in our history.”
The Athletic has obtained details of the federation’s transfer packages, which vary by employee and are primarily based on rank. The federation’s “red package,” offered to vice presidents and above, includes a $3,000 stipend, five days of relocation leave, rental and purchase assistance, shipping of household goods and other benefits. Other packages offered to senior executives and coordinators/managers offer greater allowances but far fewer ancillary benefits. Employees who choose to relocate must do so by July 1, 2025.
The federation’s new headquarters won’t be completed until 2026, but U.S. Soccer has set up a temporary facility in Atlanta, reusing a former elementary school. The facility already has 60 to 70 employees and room for expansion. Approximately 8 to 10 employees also work in Carson, Calif., and another 8 to 10 staff focused on coaching education are based in Kansas City.
Employees who reject the federation’s offer to relocate to Atlanta will receive 60 days of severance pay. Not all employees are required to travel to Atlanta, and some employees are allowed to work remotely.
The move to the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in metro Atlanta will enhance its ability to support 27 national teams and drive the continued growth of the sport in the United States, USSF said. This was said in a statement to The Athletic.
“As part of this transition, our Chicago office will close in 2025, and while not all staff will relocate, we deeply appreciate the valuable contributions of those who will. Our new training center will help ensure that even more This will enable us to operate more efficiently and position U.S. Soccer for long-term success in the ever-evolving world of soccer.”
(Top photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
