ESPN to go for big job cuts

The famous sports network ESPN is all poised for mass layoffs. The employees of the company will be informed on Wednesday about the cutbacks as said by a source. ESPN representatives haven’t commented anything on this. Earlier it was on Bloomberg News that the mass layoff will have an effect on its 350 employees i.e., 4.3 percent of its 8000 workforce. The cut off is being seen as ESPN’s preparation for the changes that are taking place in the cable TV business for the past few months. Channels like ESPN are dependent on subscriber fees and have been affected by a lot many viewers unsubscribing.

Disney, which is the parent company of ESPN had cut down its growth expectations for the company back in August because of the challenges rising in marketplace. It was only after this that the mass layoff rumors started. A sports news site ‘The Big Lead’ said in its September issue that Disney wants ESPN to “trim $100 million from the 2016 budget and $250 million in 2017.” At that time the company made a statement that it wanted to inform employees personally before anything goes public about the layoffs.

ESPN had to let go of many big names in the sports industry including Bill Simmons, Keith Olbermann etc. although it was all because of numerous factors but main reason was the price. The network said, “ESPN has historically embraced evolving technology to smartly navigate our business. Any organizational changes will be announced directly to our employees if and when appropriate.” The company can be called a bellwether for the sports industry as it has a very high subscriber fee i.e., $6 per month according to the estimates.

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