Dodger Front Office Is Hit With Cutbacks : Baseball: Team announces pay reductions for employees and warns of possible layoffs.

The Dodgers, believing that not even a sudden resolution of the baseball strike would enable them to offset financial losses, announced pay cuts for their front-office employees Friday and warned them of possible layoffs.

Dodger officials said at a staff meeting that there will be a 15% pay cut for 25 management personnel, effective last Thursday, and a 10% pay cut for 75 non-management personnel, effective Sept. 12. As partial compensation for the cuts, employees will work a four-day week.

“What this says is that regardless of whether the season resumes or not, our club, along with the rest, has been negatively impacted,” said Bob Graziano, Dodger vice president/finance. “That picture isn’t going to change.

“In our opinion, even if there were to be a postseason, the economic benefit of that has been drastically reduced.”

The Dodgers won’t determine when employees will again receive full pay until a new Basic Agreement is implemented, Graziano said. He also said employees 55 and older may be eligible for an early retirement program.

“We are contemplating layoffs,” Graziano said, “but we’re presently reviewing the entire organization. We’ll go on a department-by-department basis before implementing any layoffs and then make a decision at that point in time.

“What we’re trying to do is react to the current situation. If the picture worsens, then we’ll react to that.”

The Dodgers have yet to make any cutbacks in their scouting and development departments, according to Fred Claire, executive vice president, but layoffs are under consideration.

“As far as anything immediate (goes), the answer is no (regarding layoffs),” Claire said. “But evaluations will be made in the upcoming weeks.”

The Angels, who have already laid off three full-time employees, will wait at least two weeks before announcing further plans.

“If Sept. 15 comes and goes and the season is lost,” Angel President Richard Brown said, “then we’ll have to go to stage two. We already have a plan, but I’m hopeful we won’t have to use all or part of that plan.”

The Texas Rangers, who became the first team to announce pay cuts for their front-office staff, have delayed any pay reductions until Oct. 1. Employees will receive a 10% cut on that date, a 15% cut on Nov. 1 and a 20% cut on Dec. 1, according to John Blake, club vice president.

The Minnesota Twins will vote Tuesday on whether to make immediate layoffs or impose a mandatory one-week non-paid vacation that must be taken by Oct. 9.