Trail Blazers’ Owner Claims Laying Off 70 Workers Actually Makes People 'Happier'

Just months after finalizing the deal to buy the Portland Trail Blazers, Tom Dundon is headlining the Blazers’ offseason. The team has laid off 70 staff members. While his decision for mass layoffs is being met with criticism, Dundon has defended his decision.

Dundon is also the majority owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. In his response, he said that the Blazers had twice the staff he had with the Hurricanes. For the new Blazers owner, when a company has too much staff, they look for others to get the job done, per Bill Oram of Oregon Live.

“My experience is that less layers give people more accountability and they do a better job.”

“I’ve seen the job done really well with a lot of accountability, no drama and a lot of, honestly, happiness. People are happier when they’re busy and productive. That is the way I think things should be done. And more people just creates more problems, usually.”

Dundon clarified that while firing 70 staff was a business decision, players are not part of it, and there is no limit on finances when it comes to taking care of players. 

“Taking care of the players is not… We don’t have a budget for that. It’s whatever it takes to put them in the best position to win.”

The Blazers are entering a critical phase. With new ownership in place, they are without a permanent head coach, and now, there are talks about the Blazers possibly moving out of the city.

Former Blazers Staffer and Radio Host Fears Tom Dundon Might Move the Team Away From Portland

Dundon has been the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes since 2018. Owning a team in Portland is not proving to be the easiest job for Dundon.

During his interview with Oram, he said that while North Carolina was growing and welcoming businesses, Portland appeared “more political” and “more emotional” to him. 

Now there is a growing concern that Dundon might move the Blazers out of Portland. Sports Business radio host Brian Berger spoke about this in an interview with Yahoo Sports.TV on May 26.

“I think he’s gonna do everything in his power to move them, and it breaks my heart to say that ’cause I used to work for the Trail Blazers. I live in Portland.”

Dundon is now looking for public funding and state-sponsored deals. According to Berger, this move will be the final move by Dundon in moving away from Portland.

“But this seems to be Sonics 2.0, and I think he’s gonna say all the right things. At the end of the day, he’s gonna come with a pretty, cutthroat deal for the state and the city. And when they don’t make that deal, I think he’s gonna use that as his excuse to move the team.”

In 2006, Clay Bennett and his group of investors bought the Seattle SuperSonics from Howard Schultz. The new ownership tried to build a new arena through public funding. When the scheme failed, the team moved to Oklahoma in 2008. 

Blazers are the only team in Portland from a major league. Given the fact that any relocation benefits the league and the owners, Berger feared that the board of governors might not even block the move.