In a dramatic turn of events, ESPN has laid off 20 employees, including on-camera personalities Jeff Van Gundy and Suzy Kolber. This announcement comes on the heels of Jimmy Pitaro’s April 24th statement indicating that layoffs at the sports network were imminent. As reported by the Sports Business Journal, those affected would primarily be in management roles.
This news follows National Geographic’s recent round of layoffs, wherein all staff writers were let go – making this the fourth such occurrence since 2015 and second within the last nine months.
The ESPN layoffs have sent shockwaves throughout the sports world, as many fans will now have to bid farewell to beloved personalities after years of faithful viewing. With such a rapid rate of change happening in the industry, it is unclear what further changes may lie ahead and how they will affect fans of the sport.
Walt Disney issued 19 devastating employee layoffs from its National Geographic magazine editorial operations. This included the termination of six top-ranking editors in an effort to revamp the editorial operations and structure of the renowned publication.
The decision came as a surprise to many employees, especially considering Disney had notified them back in April that such changes were coming. Consequently, the magazine will now have to rely on freelancers or few remaining editors to compose articles going forward.
This decisive move highlights not only the economic sensitivities of the publishing industry but also its willingness to make brutal decisions in order to restructure and remain competitive in today’s market.