TD Garden ushers laid off three days after Bruins announce fund for workers

© Provided by Boston Herald Pedestrian traffic is light in front of TD Garden where the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins play, in Boston, Saturday, March, 14, 2020. The NBA and the NHL, along with most major sports leagues and sporting events in the United States have suspended play due to concern about the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Three days after the Bruins announced a $1.5 million fund for arena workers, contingent on the final six Bruins home games being canceled, TD Garden has started to make staffing cuts.

Ushers were informed on Tuesday afternoon they were being laid off.

A letter sent to ushers and obtained by the Herald was titled "Operational Impact of Coronavirus," and said workers "will not be scheduled until the conditions at our unit allows us to resume normal operations. As this situation is rapidly evolving, we will continue to update you with the anticipated date that we will resume business. We hope to provide as much notice as possible."

The note goes on to state employees may be eligible for unemployment and they hoped the changes would be "short-lived."

The Bruins released a statement over the weekend saying they had established a $1.5 million fun to assist employees affected by the NHL stoppage, contingent upon the remaining six Bruins home games being canceled. The Bruins were the last team in the NHL to announce any sort of help for their employees.

The Bruins and Delaware North — a global hospitality company that owns TD Garden — are both owned by Jeremy Jacobs.

A day before the team's statement, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey spoke with the Herald and urged Jacobs to compensate arena employees. A GoFundMe had previously been developed with the intent of financial supporting Garden employees.

The layoffs mirror what the Buffalo Sabres have done recently, announcing a conditional fund for employees, much like the Bruins, if games are canceled, and then laying off arena staff.

TD Garden timelapse: Bruins to Celtics (3/31/18)