ESPN Laying Off 300 Workers

ESPN is laying off 300 employees and will close 200 job openings as its parent company Disney slims down amid the coronavirus pandemic and as Americans continue to change how they consume content.

CNBC obtained a copy of an internal memo sent by ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, which explained the reasons for the cuts.

"As you know, we value transparency in our internal dialogue, and that means in both good and challenging times," Pitaro wrote. "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."

ESPN employs around 6,000 people across the world, CNBC noted.

Pitaro said steps taken this year to stem revenue losses included cutting executives' pay and furloughing staff. But between the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancelation of countless sporting events, and the fact that an increasing number of people are canceling cable service and watching content on apps in a direct-to-consumer model, he said more action was needed.

"We have, however, reached an inflection point," he wrote. "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. … However, building a successful future in a changing world means facing hard choices."

Last month, NBCUniversal began laying off employees after months of slow advertising sales and a shutdown of TV and movie production.

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