Just when you thought the jobs of mascots everywhere were safe, saddening news comes out of Tampa Bay, informing everyone that the Tampa Bay mascot, Thunder Bug, has been laid off (actually the guy inside ThunderBug, who is named Matt Hitchcock was laid off).  More from TampaBay.com,

“The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced a restructuring aimed at creating more efficiencies and eliminating redundancies by reducing the size of its workforce. When the current ownership purchased the team, it elected to take a full hockey season to observe and analyze the business before making major decisions regarding its long-term direction.

“With the 2008-09 season completed, the franchise feels it is necessary to form a structure that best supports the business going forward. Today, in a toughening economy, we certainly understand the impact that these decisions have on the lives of the families affected which doesn’t make the decisions any easier. However, we feel an obligation to our fans and sponsors to create the best possible organization to ensure our success in the future. We appreciate all the hard work and service these dedicated employees have performed for this organization and we wish them all the best moving forward.”

Besides ThunderBug, the Lightning also released 19 other employees, which brought the yearly total up to 27 employees (yes, we are in April, why do you ask?).  As mentioned in the press release, OK Hockey (the 8 person collective that took over ownership of the Lightning in 2008), spent the last year analyzing the current situation, and they are now seeking to maximize profits with the hockey team.  The rush to “right the ship” is apparent; the downward spiraling economy, and a $105 million loan, used to finance the purchase of the team and due in 2011, has accelerated the panic in Tampa Bay.  This year’s 24-40, 66 point performance (14th in the Eastern Conference) probably didn’t help matters much.

The panic is definitely real when six-foot lightning bugs wearing hockey jerseys find themselves without jobs.

Tampa Bay.com — Some layoffs at OK Hockey, including ThunderBug