ESPN President John Skipper announced on Wednesday that the sports network informed 150 employees that their jobs are being eliminated.
Skipper sent a memo to all ESPN employees detailing the decision to eliminate 150 jobs at the network, explaining that the positions are mainly in studio production and technology.
Today we are informing approximately 150 people at ESPN that their jobs are being eliminated.
We appreciate their contributions, and will assist them as much as possible in this difficult moment with severance, a 2017 bonus, the continuation of health benefits and outplacement services. They will also appreciate your support.
The majority of the jobs eliminated are in studio production, digital content, and technology and they generally reflect decisions to do less in certain instances and re-direct resources.
We will continue to invest in ways which will best position us to serve the modern sports fan and support the success of our business.
John
Skipper's announcement comes after ESPN let go of hundreds of employees in the past two years. The network laid off some 300 employees, about four to five percent of its workforce, in October 2015, before doing the same to 100 journalists and on-air personalities in April 2016. ESPN said after the 2016 layoffs that the company made the decision because it is "constantly evaluating" company operations.
"A necessary component of managing change involves constantly evaluating how we best utilize all of our resources, and that sometimes involves difficult decisions," ESPN said at the time.