AUSTIN, Texas — About one-third of South By Southwest’s full-time staff has been let go, according to a SXSW spokesperson.
This comes days after Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a state of emergency in the city, effectively canceling the annual festival.
Below is the full statement from SXSW:
“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.”
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