Jeremy Jacobs’s sons explain why family waited to set up relief fund for TD Garden workers - The Boston Globe
The sons of Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs agree that they waited too long to offer a relief fund for 1,000-plus TD Garden workers idled by the coronavirus shutdown.
But Jerry, Lou, and Charlie Jacobs want it known that they weren’t tardy out of neglect. They were late because they prioritized meeting the more pressing needs of their furloughed full-time workers spread out across six countries in their $3.7 billion Delaware North hospitality empire.
The flak the family took was not easy but was understandable given the nine-day delay and lack of communication from corporate headquarters.
That is why the sons wanted to tell New Englanders that there was more behind the lag in aid than what first met all the stink-eye.
“Without context, it seems perhaps arbitrary or there’s no rhyme or reason — if you don’t understand the whole picture, it’s very difficult to comprehend, to borrow Jerry’s words, the ‘triage process’ that we went through,” said Charlie Jacobs in a conference call from Boston with his brothers, both in Buffalo, on Friday. “There was this groundswell of voices saying, ‘Come on, Jacobses, step up,’ and ‘Do this and do that.’ When we got to finally address our part-time associates, it was several days after other teams in other leagues and even other NHL teams had already made plans for game-night associates. But again, those people don’t necessarily have a workforce of 55,000 people, they just don’t have it.”
COVID-19 is decimating Delaware North. A month ago, there were 55,000 employees. Today, 1,100 are left on the payroll.
The hospitality, entertainment, and leisure company has holdings in every sector the virus has immobilized: restaurants, casinos, catering, and food services at resorts, stadiums, arenas, and national parks in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
It was “gut-wrenching,” said Charlie Jacobs, to tell roughly 98 percent of the company’s salaried workforce that their jobs were disappearing. Those who still have jobs have accepted pay cuts, with senior level staff taking a higher percentage.
“From the outset it was important to Dad,” said Lou Jacobs. “The Bruins were his early focus, but we were sort of saying, ‘Dad, we’re dealing with this portfolio of businesses here, we’ve got to come up with a better overall strategy for everything else.’ We actually were the ones who put our hands up and said, ‘Can we slow down on that and address that later?’ ”
After hearing from their father that “I’m getting beat up here, let me do this thing” one too many times, the sons finally addressed Boston.
“I think what got us in trouble really was the time it took for us to get there,” said Jerry Jacobs. “I hope you understand there’s a reason that it took us that time and it wasn’t because we were dispassionate. It’s the opposite. It’s because we were trying to take care of the people we felt needed the most. We did do it, but we just didn’t do it fast enough, and that upset people. But there’s a good reason why.”
Jerry Jacobs said the notion of a family with its resources doing more in this time of increased need was misdirected.
“I have to tell you, when you say ‘great wealth,’ you’re talking about Delaware North companies, and as Charlie described our capital is largely invested in the business,” said Jerry Jacobs. “It’s sort of like saying, ‘You have a net worth and that includes your house and you have to sell your house in order to have the cash to actually give it away.’ That’s very much the situation we’re in. Our capital is tied up in our business, and our business is basically shut down. So, it’s tied our hands. As much as we want to be more philanthropic in a time of great need, it’s really tied our hands and our ability to do so.
“Delaware North is the Jacobs family asset.”
The sons of Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs agree that they waited too long to offer a relief fund for 1,000-plus TD Garden workers idled by the coronavirus shutdown.
But Jerry, Lou, and Charlie Jacobs want it known that they weren’t tardy out of neglect. They were late because they prioritized meeting the more pressing needs of their furloughed full-time workers spread out across six countries in their $3.7 billion Delaware North hospitality empire.
The flak the family took was not easy but was understandable given the nine-day delay and lack of communication from corporate headquarters.
That is why the sons wanted to tell New Englanders that there was more behind the lag in aid than what first met all the stink-eye.
“Without context, it seems perhaps arbitrary or there’s no rhyme or reason — if you don’t understand the whole picture, it’s very difficult to comprehend, to borrow Jerry’s words, the ‘triage process’ that we went through,” said Charlie Jacobs in a conference call from Boston with his brothers, both in Buffalo, on Friday. “There was this groundswell of voices saying, ‘Come on, Jacobses, step up,’ and ‘Do this and do that.’ When we got to finally address our part-time associates, it was several days after other teams in other leagues and even other NHL teams had already made plans for game-night associates. But again, those people don’t necessarily have a workforce of 55,000 people, they just don’t have it.”
COVID-19 is decimating Delaware North. A month ago, there were 55,000 employees. Today, 1,100 are left on the payroll.
The hospitality, entertainment, and leisure company has holdings in every sector the virus has immobilized: restaurants, casinos, catering, and food services at resorts, stadiums, arenas, and national parks in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
It was “gut-wrenching,” said Charlie Jacobs, to tell roughly 98 percent of the company’s salaried workforce that their jobs were disappearing. Those who still have jobs have accepted pay cuts, with senior level staff taking a higher percentage.
“From the outset it was important to Dad,” said Lou Jacobs. “The Bruins were his early focus, but we were sort of saying, ‘Dad, we’re dealing with this portfolio of businesses here, we’ve got to come up with a better overall strategy for everything else.’ We actually were the ones who put our hands up and said, ‘Can we slow down on that and address that later?’ ”
After hearing from their father that “I’m getting beat up here, let me do this thing” one too many times, the sons finally addressed Boston.
“I think what got us in trouble really was the time it took for us to get there,” said Jerry Jacobs. “I hope you understand there’s a reason that it took us that time and it wasn’t because we were dispassionate. It’s the opposite. It’s because we were trying to take care of the people we felt needed the most. We did do it, but we just didn’t do it fast enough, and that upset people. But there’s a good reason why.”
Jerry Jacobs said the notion of a family with its resources doing more in this time of increased need was misdirected.
“I have to tell you, when you say ‘great wealth,’ you’re talking about Delaware North companies, and as Charlie described our capital is largely invested in the business,” said Jerry Jacobs. “It’s sort of like saying, ‘You have a net worth and that includes your house and you have to sell your house in order to have the cash to actually give it away.’ That’s very much the situation we’re in. Our capital is tied up in our business, and our business is basically shut down. So, it’s tied our hands. As much as we want to be more philanthropic in a time of great need, it’s really tied our hands and our ability to do so.
“Delaware North is the Jacobs family asset.”