Broadcast sports giant ESPN is telling employees that pandemic-related layoffs are coming. In addition to the cuts, company president Jimmy Pitaro says 200 open positions will be eliminated.
His communication to employees tells the story of a company trying to navigate sports coverage in the 21st century and how it could change course to be more profitable.
Pitaro says the pandemic “accelerated” those discussions. ESPN tried to head off widespread cuts by asking company executives and talent to take a paycut, while furloughing others, but it wasn’t enough.
The company didn’t say anything about who was going, other than quote “exceptional team members, some who’ve been here for a long time."
