Mitchelton-Scott scales back salaries

Mitchelton-Scott is the latest WorldTour team to reduce wages in response to the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis sweeping the peloton, and the world.

The Aussie-backed team confirmed Monday that riders and staffers have seen a pay cut, but no one has been fired or laid off.

“Everybody has taken a substantial cut,” a team official confirmed to VeloNews. “We are not letting anyone go. This move was all based on that.”

Officials would not reveal the wage reduction, but confirmed that all support staff will retain their jobs as part of the team-wide salary decrease.

Mitchelton-Scott is backed primarily by Australian businessman Gerry Ryan, who owns a variety of travel and entertainment interests. With the global economy grinding to a halt, team officials needed to make adjustments in light of the unexpected and sudden economic slowdown.

Mitchelton-Scott officials said there was “no option” but to reduce salaries.

The Aussie squad is now the fifth team to reduce or scale back wages in light of unprecedented disruption to professional racing.

Last week, CCC Team slashed its rider salaries to a bare minimum, and laid off nearly all of its sport directors and support staff. Bahrain-McLaren has furloughed salaries from 30 to 70 percent, while Astana also cut salaries by 30 percent. Lotto-Soudal has reduced its salaries by 10 percent.

Racing is suspended until at least June 1, but just last week, the Tour de Suisse canceled its 2020 edition. The next race officially on the schedule is the Tour de France, set to begin June 27 in Nice. Officials are considering a major reshuffling of the European racing calendar, which could include a rescheduling of the Tour to begin in late July if French health authorities agree.