Ilitch Holdings Inc. is laying off and furloughing workers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wallop its entertainment empire.

The announcement was made Wednesday in an email to employees from Chris Granger, the company’s group president of sports and entertainment.

“COVID-19 has negatively impacted the entire sports and entertainment industry, including our partners, our vendors, our sponsors, and our guests,” Granger said in the email. “It is in this environment that we have had to make the difficult decision, with respect to our business operations, to put in place some temporary furloughs, as well as layoffs.”

The actions took place starting Wednesday morning, the email said. Those impacted include full-time, salaried employees in departments tasked with producing live events at the Fox Theatre, Little Caesars Arena and Comerica Park. Operations staff for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings are not impacted.

Granger’s email does not specify how many layoffs or furloughs are being implemented. The company declined to provide a number.

“As you know, at this point it has been over six months since we last hosted guests in our venues,” Granger said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in over 200 cancelled sporting events and concerts in our venues, and, sadly, that number grows daily.”

Granger said the company is “aggressively booking events into the future,” and he looks forward to “ramping up our business operations” when the venues reopen.

Benefits will continue to be paid to employees on furlough, the company said. It is unclear how many full-time employees for the entertainment arm of the business remain on Ilitch Holdings’ payroll.

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North, which operates retail and concession stands at Ilitch-controlled Comerica Park and Little Caesars Arena, said in a WARN notice filed with the state in June that it expected the venues’ 1,656 employees to remain laid off indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“… This is an evolving situation, and as business resumes, we will be recalling associates,” the June WARN letter said.

When the outbreak first began, the Ilitches created a $2 million fund to assist impacted workers.

Granger said in the email to employees that the company is preparing its venues to safely welcome back guests, but it remains to be seen when fans will return in significant numbers.

“It will be exceedingly hard to say goodbye to co-workers, friends, and those we consider family, but, unfortunately, these actions are necessary as we begin the process of aligning ourselves to the current and future market realities in the live event industry,” he said.