The Portland Trail Blazers laid off about 70 employees from the team's business operations side on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The cuts are the first major organizational move under new majority owner Tom Dundon, who also owns the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, and do not affect basketball or player operations.
"Today, as part of our plans to position the organization for the future, we made the difficult decision to restructure several areas of the business." — Dewayne Hankins, President of Business Operations
Tom Dundon, who closed his purchase of the Blazers earlier this year, publicly framed the cuts as a cost-alignment with what other franchises spend on business operations. Dundon said the Blazers were spending about $100 million more on business operations annually than his NHL Carolina Hurricanes, despite the Hurricanes' strong competitive results.
Earlier cost-cutting signals were visible in 2025-26: the team had been leaving its staff photographer and digital reporter home from road playoff games, an unusual move for an NBA franchise.
Casey Holdahl, the Blazers' Digital Reporter and a fixture on Blazers.com for 18 years, was among those let go. Holdahl confirmed his departure on social media after the announcement.
The Blazers join a wider 2026 wave of sports and entertainment layoffs, including the PGA Tour (80 cuts in April), Penn Entertainment (75 cuts in May), and Ticketmaster (350 cuts in early May). Unlike most of those, the Blazers' cuts are owner-driven cost rationalization rather than industry-wide demand or AI-driven restructuring.