In one email, a contractor boss said: “As you may have noticed, visitor numbers are lower than expected, for this reason the AELTC has asked us to look into reducing our daily staff numbers. It may be necessary to to ‘cut’ staff.”
Evidence emerged Friday that some workers have already ended their shifts, with staff accusing bosses of using minor disciplinary violations as a pretext to send them home.
“They’re firing people left, right and center,” said an employee on condition of anonymity.
“They’re actually overstaffed and they said there aren’t enough fans here – not what they expected – so they have to fire people. Someone went to the bathroom without asking, so they fired him. It started happening on Wednesday.”
It follows reported issues with the ticket resale system, where show court attendees were unable or unwilling to submit their tickets digitally so that others could purchase them at a discounted price. The All England Club said the main courses were fully booked every day, but the general ground passes did not sell out.
Officials said all refunded Center Court tickets on the website were being resold and purchased “immediately”. However, attendees who queued to enter the grounds on Friday morning said the atmosphere was noticeably different compared to previous years.
Mr Birchnall, a student from Ashby in Leicestershire, said: “Last time we were here we got the diehard Federer fans with their country flags, and we haven’t seen that this year. Maybe international fans aren’t really there this year.”
He added that The Queue’s return after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus had not been properly advertised and locals may not be aware of it.
Heather Watson plays the German Jule Niemeier, the number 97 in the world, in the fourth round. As a high-profile British player, she is likely to be placed on Center Court, although her mother has said she would rather play on Court No 1, suggesting it had to do with previous negative experiences on the Premier Court.
The All England Club denied it had asked its contractors to lay off their staff.
A spokesperson said: “We appreciate all the staff who help us deliver The Championships, they are crucial to organizing this world class event. We meet annually with all of our major contractors to agree terms of employment that will be shared with all potential employees.
“We are delighted that many of our staff are choosing to return to work at Wimbledon year after year, helping us to put on an incredible event.”