ESPN announced Thursday it will lay off 300 employees, marking its largest number of job cuts in five years. In addition, it will not fill about 200 open positions.
The DIsney-owned sports network employs about 6,000 people worldwide, 4,000 of whom are in Bristol, Conn. It laid off 300 employees during a round of cuts in 2015. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a message to employees Thursday, “Today is hard because ESPN has always been — and will always be — fortified by its fantastic people. We have, however, reached an inflection point. The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of many ways.”
Pitaro said COVID-19 has had a “significant impact” on ESPN operations. Since the start of the pandemic, all major sports leagues have delayed their games and mostly eliminated fan attendance.
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