ESPN cuts 500 jobs
November 6, 2020
Disney’s ESPN will reduce its workforce by about 500 people, network president Jimmy Pitaro has told employees. The US sports network has about 6,000 employees, so the cuts amoun to about 8 per cent of its total workforce.
“For some time, ESPN has been engaged in planning for its future amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports,” Pitaro said. “The pandemic’s effect on ESPN clearly accelerated our thinking on all fronts. Today, as a result of these circumstances, we informed our employees that we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce to create a more agile, efficient organisation.
“We are parting ways with many exceptional teammates, all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN […] These are not easy decisions, and we will work hard to make their transitions easier. We will move forward in a manner that will allow us to continue to best serve sports fans,” he added.
According to the New York Post, ESPN will eliminate 300 positions, and 200 job positions currently vacant won’t be filled.
This month Disney said it would lay off an additional 11,400 workers at its Florida theme parks by the end of the year.