World News – United States – ESPN layoffs reportedly begin today

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY 05: A view of the logo during ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, CA (Photo by Mike Windle / Getty Images for ESPN)

« If cuts do occur, this will be ESPN’s third significant round of layoffs in the past five years, after dropping 350 employees in 2015, and another 100 two years later »

Reports of a string of impending layoffs for ESPN began about a month ago, now appear to be imminent, with cuts starting as early as Thursday November 5

As strong as ESPN’s brand is global, it has not been immune to layoffs in recent years.If cuts occur, this will be ESPN’s third significant round of layoffs in the five years, after letting 350 employees leave in 2015, and another 100 two years later Today, as industries continue to be ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that ESPN is looking for cost savings

Like the 2015 cuts, the impending layoffs are expected to mostly concern behind-the-scenes workers But according to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, some ESPN talent won’t see their renewed contracts as a cost-cutting effort

Just over a month ago, ESPN’s parent company Disney announced that 28,000 people would be laid off from its Parks, Experiences and Production unit ESPN currently has around 4,000 employees in Bristol, CT, and 6,500 worldwide These layoffs come as Disney and ESPN are also said to be interested in spending $ 1 billion to acquire more NFL broadcast rights

Brandon Contes is BSM’s senior reporter for sports radio and TV news. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or email him at BrandonContes @ gmailcom

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ESPN, dismissal, Richard Deitsch, The Athletic