NBA Lays Off 11 Percent Of Staff

(NewsCore) - NEW YORK -- The NBA laid off more than 100 employees, cutting its workforce by 11 percent, as part of a cost-cutting exercise that is not related to the current lockout, a spokesman said Thursday.

In total 114 people lost their jobs as the league battles to reduce the economic stress on clubs and agree to a new labor agreement with players, the New York Times reported.

"The layoffs are not a direct result of the lockout but rather a response to the same underlying issue; that is, the league's expenses far outpace our revenues," said Mike Bass, a spokesman for the NBA, said in a statement.

"The roughly 11 percent reduction in headcount from the league office is part of larger cost-cutting measures to reduce our costs by $50 million across all areas of our business."

The league has laid off about 275 staff since October 2008 and was reported to have lost $300 million this season, with 22 of the 33 clubs losing money, according to the Chicago Tribune. The league has also cut administrative and travel costs and closed the NBA store on 5th Ave. in New York.

It is still not known how the lockout will affect the start of the upcoming season. The owners are asking for a revenue split of 50-50, while players have reduced their counter-proposal to 54.3 percent -- equivalent to $100 million a year -- over five years.