There's been no shortage of heartstring-jerking reports from the current economic crisis -- seniors whose retirement accounts have been wiped clean; families relocating from homes to motels; MBAs forced to wear their resumes on sandwich boards.
However, in my humble opinion, today's news might be the most pathetic: Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces the classic Sesame Street TV show, is slashing 20% of its 355-member workforce.
In a statement Wednesday, Sesame Workshop said it was "not immune to the unprecedented challenges of today's economic environment ... After careful review, we have concluded that we will have to operate with fewer resources in order to achieve our strategic priorities."
As the Financial Times reports, Sesame Street was hit just as hard as Main Street by Wall Street's collapse. Its major backers included Bear Stearns, which supported emergency-preparation programs for children and their families, as well as Merrill Lynch, which sponsored a global citizenship initiative. The Workshop's investment portfolio suffered a $9.27-million loss in 2008, while net assets tumbled by $6.7 million.
However, not all of the news on the Street is terrible. Sesame's backers also include Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), both of which seem well-poised to weather the bleak economic environment. In other words, longtime domestic partners Bert and Ernie will probably not be replaced by tube-sock puppets in the near future.
Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.
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