U.S. Soccer reportedly lays off up to 30 staff members ahead of relocation to Atlanta

The U.S. Soccer Federation is reportedly set to lay off up to 30 of its employees ahead of its relocation from Chicago to its new headquarters in the Atlanta metro region.

USSF employs approximately 340 people, which means the cuts would be close to 10 percent of its work staff. The layoffs are impacting several departments, including the marketing, sales, sporting, refereeing and coaching departments.

The Athletic first reported the news of the U.S. Soccer staff cuts Wednesday.

The layoffs come in contrast to U.S. Soccer's strong financial position. The organization recently touted its recent revenue to The Athletic, with U.S. Soccer earning $32 million in commercial revenue. Its projection for the current financial year, which ends on March 31, is $110M, an increase of 243 percent in two years.

The organization also used its financial muscle, along with a donation from billionaire Ken Griffin, to recruit high-profile men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The organization's move to Atlanta appears to be the impetus of these cuts.

“We pretty much knew that some of us would be ‘invited’ to Atlanta,” the Athletic quoted one anonymous source as saying. “and some of us wouldn’t make the cut, so to speak. This was basically weighing on all of us for over a month already, and then the invite stuff happened - it was very, very hard to deal with.”

In a statement issued to The Athletic, the USSF said: “The transition to the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in metro Atlanta will enhance our ability to support our 27 national teams and drive the continued growth of the sport in the U.S."

“As part of this transition, the Chicago office will close in 2025, and while not all staff will relocate, we deeply appreciate the invaluable contributions of those who won’t be making the move. Our new Training Center will allow us to operate more efficiently, positioning U.S. Soccer for long-term success in the ever-evolving landscape of global soccer.”

New manager Pochettino is running his first-ever camp for the USMNT and is set to kick off his tenure with a match against Panama on Oct. 12. The USWNT also has a pair of friendlies against Iceland later this month, as well as a match against Argentina.