MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will suspend the league's Uniform Employee Contracts on May 1, enabling clubs to furlough employees during the COVID-19 shutdown.
The Pirates will not be doing that, as they have committed to pay their employees through at least May 31.
They are, however, considering an initial set of tiered salary reductions for highly-compensated employees in baseball and business operations, as well as other personnel adjustments.
"Part of what makes this situation so difficult is that nobody truly knows with absolute certainty what the short-term and long-term outlook will be moving forward," team president Travis Williams said in a released statement. "The coronavirus and its impact on our community and our sport evolves by the day.
"We wish that we didn’t have to have these conversations, but they have become necessary as this crisis continues to impact our operations. We will always keep the best interests of our employees and the organization in mind, and continue doing everything we can to support our community."
Manfred is suspending employee contracts as a way for teams to cut costs during the shutdown, but most have turned down the opportunity for now. According to Jeff Passan, 19 teams have already committed to paying their staff employees through the end of May. The Pirates are the 20th club to do the same.
MLB hopes to start the season in June or July, though some have begun to cast doubts on if there will be a season at all. Teams may reconsider Manfred's offer in a month's time, or work on a plan to defer payment to employees instead.
The employees who were in danger of being furloughed were major and minor-league coaches, front office personnel and scouts. UEC contracts have a clause that allows the commissioner to withhold pay during a national emergency.
Despite the lack of revenue coming into the organization and not knowing when the season will start, the Pirates have done right by their employees during the shutdown thus far. Every MLB team committed $1 million to stadium workers who are impacted by the shutdown in March, and they helped work with MLB to create a plan to provide financial support to minor-league players.