TKO Reportedly Makes Big Change to WWE Severance Pay, WWE Employee Morale Takes Big Negative Hit

WWE employees were reportedly informed of new changes were made to the severance policy of the company going forward, according to PWInsider.

Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that an internal memo sent to WWE employees on Friday stating that these new changes for the company’s severance policy go into effect immediately.

Johnson reported that the old severance policy of employees receiving a month’s worth of pay for every year they worked in the company is no longer being done.

Instead, WWE will now honor a TKO policy of only two weeks work of severance pay for every year an employee works for the company.

Johnson also reported that there were additional caps placed on severance pay on the management level as part of these new changes but it is currently not known what exactly these new pay caps are.

Johnson also reported that the general reaction within WWE was one of being a major blow to company morale among employees. Johnson reported that many of them are now tasked with responsibilities among WWE, UFC, and PBR (Professional Bull Riders) as opposed to just on WWE as had been the case prior to Vince McMahon selling the company.

Fightful Select reported that their sources confirmed of the changes made by TKO Group and provided additional details.

It was reported that this new updated policy outlines two core components, which are severance pay and COBRA health insurance continuation. It was reported that eligible employees will receive health coverage through COBRA during their severance period but they must still pay the employee portion of the monthly premium in order to keep their insurance active.

It was reported that eligibility now requires a minimum of one year of continuous service in WWE.

Those spoken to reportedly also stated that TKO has also introduced new minimum and maximum severance periods based on position level.

Senior Vice Presidents:

• Minimum – 16 weeks
• Maximum – 52 weeks

Vice Presidents:

• Minimum – 8 weeks
• Maximum – 36 weeks

Employees below VP level:

• Minimum – 4 weeks
• Maximum – 24 weeks

It was reported that these new changes result in a substantial reduction in severance potential, especially for employees with shorter tenures.

It was also reported that the internal response has been negative with many employees, especially those employed for fewer than five year, expressing their frustration over the new changes.

Some employees reportedly believe this new move may be a preemptive step ahead of potential layoffs. It was reported that this is something that has yet to be confirmed to be the case.