A new round of layoffs has hit the Walt Disney Company, this time at ESPN. According to The Hollywood Reporter, earlier today, ESPN chairman, Jimmy Pitaro shared a memo with colleagues announcing that the company will be laying off 300 employees.
via The Hollywood Reporter
What’s Happening:
- In a memo sent out this morning, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has announced the sports media company has made the difficult decision to lay off 300 employees.
- This news comes just weeks after its parent company, Disney announced 28,000 layoffs across several divisions, though mainly its theme parks.
- Pitaro says deciding to layoff employees was not easy, but necessary. He’s confident that ESPN will be able to, “move forward and effectively navigate this unprecedented disruption."
- Pitaro notes that prior to the layoffs, ESPN took steps to keep as many employed as possible with efforts such as salary reductions for executives and talent, furloughs and budget cuts. Now, however they’ve, “reached an inflection point.”
- With their pared down workforce, ESPN will be placing a greater focus on the direct-to-consumer aspect of their business as Pitaro cites the “tremendous disruption” caused by the pandemic has forced audiences to find new ways to consume sports.
- Disney itself is also shifting their business model and recently announced a structural reorganization with a focus direct-to-consumer and streaming.
What They’re Saying:
- Statement from Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content: “For some time, ESPN has been engaged in planning for its future amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. The pandemic’s effect on ESPN clearly accelerated our thinking on all fronts. Today, as a result of these circumstances, we informed our employees that we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce to create a more agile, efficient organization. We are parting ways with many exceptional teammates, all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN. These are not easy decisions, and we will work hard to make their transitions easier. We will move forward in a manner that will allow us to continue to best serve sports fans.”
- Jimmy Pitaro: "The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever."
Full Memo from Jimmy Pitaro (via CNBC.com):
Dear colleagues,
As you know, we value transparency in our internal dialogue, and that means in both good and challenging times. After much consideration, I have some difficult organizational decisions to share. We will be reducing our workforce, impacting approximately 300 valued team members, in addition to 200 open positions.
Today is hard because ESPN has always been — and will always be — fortified by its fantastic people. Teamwork, dedication, spirit and grit have built this place and are what make ESPN special. Prior to the pandemic, we had been deeply engaged in strategizing how best to position ESPN for future success amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. The pandemic’s significant impact on our business clearly accelerated those forward-looking discussions. In the short term, we enacted various steps like executive and talent salary reductions, furloughs and budget cuts, and we implemented innovative operations and production approaches, all in an effort to weather the COVID storm.
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 new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever. However, building a successful future in a changing world means facing hard choices. Making informed decisions about how and where we need to go – and, as always, in the most efficient way possible – is by far the most challenging job of any leadership team.
And, while it must be done looking through a business lens, it also must be done with great respect and genuine concern for people. We are parting ways with some exceptional team members – some of whom have been here for a long time – and all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN. We’re very grateful for all they’ve meant to us, and I assure you we are taking steps to make their transitions easier. I am proud of the people at ESPN.
Together, we have overcome tremendous challenges and adversity over these past several months and please know that the decisions and plans executed today were not made lightly. They are, however, necessary and I am convinced that we will move forward and effectively navigate this unprecedented disruption. Our Human Resources and Communications teams will continue to keep you posted on any updates, and you’ll be hearing more detail about our future direction in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions about anything outlined in this note, please do not hesitate to raise them with your leadership team or HR Business Partner.
With gratitude,
Jimmy