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Furloughs Coming For Detroit Lions Employees?

Some teams have reduced the salaries of their employees or laid people off in the wake of the NFL lockout. With activity at a minimum and the threat of games being missed this fall, teams are doing whatever they can to save some money.

The Detroit Lions have not yet taken any measures to reduce salaries or anything like that, but Mike O'Hara reports that two-week furloughs (basically an unpaid vacation) could be coming soon unless the lockout suddenly ends.

A trusted source with knowledge of the matter said Lions employees will have to take unpaid, two-week furloughs. Apparently, they’ll start next month.

If no games are lost, the employees will be reimbursed for the lost income.

We are getting to the point where more than just players' livelihoods are being threatened because of the lack of a CBA. If the lockout continues and forces games to be missed, a whole lot of people who depend on the NFL for their living will be screwed over. At least the Lions will reimburse their employees if no games are missed, but it's far from a guarantee that every game will in fact be played at this point.

UPDATE: From the Detroit News, here are more details on the furloughs:

At that time, Lewand said any furloughs would include all employees, including him, GM Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz.

The furloughs (essentially unpaid vacations) are being staggered; they won't all taken them at the same time.

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