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Blue Jays employees arrived at work to learn the grim news of Ted Rogers' passing yesterday, but for many of them, the news got even worse.
At least 30 Jays staff members received pink slips, 20 of them in the consumer sales department, as part of a massive corporate purge that extended throughout the Rogers Communications empire and eventually will claim more than 100 jobs.
"This is a sad and difficult day, one which we wish could have been avoided," said Blue Jays interim president Paul Beeston. "But (the layoffs) are necessary to cope with what looks to be a very challenging economic outlook. Nobody, no matter what business you're in, has to look very hard to see the reality of the situation."
The Jays already have indicated that the team payroll, pegged at just under $100 million last season, will probably be closer to $80 million than last year's record number. It's a bit too early to say where ticket sales will fall, but some sponsorship money already has dried up, according to Beeston.
