ESPN, the sports media behemoth based out of Bristol, Conn., will be laying off a large number of employees, estimated by some to be around 400, reported sports blog and ESPN adversary Deadspin.
ESPN confirmed that the company will lay off employees but would not confirm a number in a statement.
"We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs," the statement read. "While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative, and productive."
James Andrew Miller, co-author of "Those Guys Have All the Fun," an immensely detailed oral history of the cable sports network, tweeted that the number of laid off workers will be between 300 and 400. Miller also tweeted that layoffs are not common in Bristol and he expects the layoffs to hurt the company's morale.
"Any layoff/firing/buyout is rare for Bristol culture. It is not being taken lightly. By anyone. No gain, just pain. #ESPN," Miller tweeted.
Any layoff/firing/buyout is rare for Bristol culture. It is not being taken lightly. By anyone. No gain, just pain. #ESPN
— James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 21, 2013
Number is between 300 and 400 but includes open jobs that won't now be filled. But, @espn will still be hiring, still in growth mode. #ESPN — James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 21, 2013
It's not known exactly which jobs will be cut but almost all are expected to be behind camera jobs. Deadspin's source at ESPN said that the technology department was hit very hard. A reader told Deadspin that ESPN's Denver Tech Center was completely shut down, the information was confirmed by a source.
Disney, the parent company of ESPN, has been making job cuts at many of the properties they own. Shortly after obtaining LucasArts Disney cut 150 jobs from the video-game making division of LucasFilm, followed by a similar number of layoffs at the movie studio, according to the Associated Press. The cuts come despite Disney beating or matching earnings estimates for the last eight quarters, according to the Associated Press. Variety recently reported that Disney's stock hit an all-time high at the beginning of this month.
Sources within ESPN told Deadspin that the layoffs caught everyone within the company by surprise.
"I was laid off from ESPN after 9 and a half years. Completely out of the blue," the source said. "I was told it was 10 percent across the board, which would be roughly 400. I was told the reason was they needed to make their profit margin and they chose to do that via layoff of staff."
ESPN is by all outward appearances a highly profitable company, the company is currently building a brand new home for "SportsCenter" that will cost a whopping $125 million, which leaves many wondering why layoffs are needed to meet profit margin within the company. Speculation is that the rising costs of television rights for sports has hurt the bottom line for ESPN, the company just paid $75 million a year to broadcast tennis' U.S. Open, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite today's job cuts ESPN will still be expanding in other areas, including launching a new network along with the South Eastern Conference in 2014, reports the Associated Press.
