NASCAR Productions laid off about 15 percent of its Charlotte-based workforce this week in a restructuring of the unit that produces video for the motorsports giant. In all, 32 of 180 jobs were eliminated. Some of those employees will remain into the fall as the final leg of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races are run. Many of those laid off had more than a decade of experience in NASCAR and motorsports, including veteran project manager Chrissy Pellegrino and former WCNC (Channel 36) sports director Chuck Howard. Steve Herbst, who took over the unit in June during an earlier restructuring that saw the departure of chief operating officer Jay Abraham, said Tuesday the cutbacks were strategic moves reflecting the changing industry. After evaluating NASCAR Productions operations, executives decided to drop independent video production work on outside accounts not related to motorsports. It had been handling projects like Notre Dame hockey, University of Virginia football and music videos. Herbst said creating a NASCAR cable channel similar to the NFL’s is still being considered for the Charlotte broadcast complex. ‘We ‘ve done quite a bit of thinking about it, but no decision has been made yet,’ he said.(Charlotte Observer)(9-12-2012)
