75% of staff fired from Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã stadium ahead of Olympics

Three-quarters of workers employed at Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janerio have been fired, just months before the 2016 Olympics.

Administrators at the legendary arena released a statement explaining that 40 people have been laid-off in an attempt to cut costs whilst the building is under the control of the Olympic committee. Maracanã officials have confirmed that tours and maintenance work will be carried out by private contractors.

The arena itself has had something of a rocky history, with the consortium having lost upwards of £25 million in their first two years of business. This is thought to have been down to the fact that they were unable to build a retail park on the site due to protests in 2013 over an attempt to evict indigenous citizens from a local complex, according to The Guardian.

Dealing with the issue of downsizing and reducing staff volume is certainly not an enviable topic, as the Head of HR for Air France recently found out. The airline was forced to suspend five employees after the Head of HR and a fellow executive had their clothes ripped off by staff, following the announcement of 2,900 job cuts. See the full video and their responses here.