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ESPN is Beginning Another Massive Round of Layoffs
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Another day, another round of layoffs in the sports media.
This time it’s the Worldwide Leader undergoing a staff reduction that will see a few hundred people lose their jobs, possibly beginning today.
Richard Deitsch at The Athletic obtained this letter from ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro that explains what’s going on. The print is small, but you can click on this image to enlarge it:
300 layoffs and 200 open positions essentially being frozen. That’s a lot of jobs.
According to Deitsch, “remote production is expected to be hit significantly while some of the cost savings will come from talent contracts not being renewed.” That would make sense based on how COVID specifically impacts the sports world.
You’ll recall there was a well-publicized round of layoffs back in April of 2017, which saw the departures of Pierre LeBrun, Ed Werder, Dana O’Neil, Andy Katz, Claire Smith, Jade McCarthy, Jaymee Sire, and other on-air talent. A large chunk of those layoffs back then included beat reporters who covered specific teams, like Paul Kuharsky and Doug Padilla. Most of the web writers were also let go.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com