ESPN to lay off 200-300 employees in coming months

One of the biggest media entities in sports is about to get a little smaller.

ESPN will lay off 200-300 employees in the coming months, according to a report from The Big Lead. The report says ESPN has been instructed by parent company Disney to cut around $100 million from its 2016 budget and $250 million from its 2017 budget.

This report is unsurprising. Though ESPN has traditionally been a cash cow for Disney, the growing trend of “cord-cutting” (fewer people buying cable TV subscriptions) has put a dent into the company’s profits.

ESPN seemed to confirm the report in a statement about the matter.

“ESPN has historically embraced evolving technology to smartly navigate our business. Any organizational changes will be announced directly to our employees if and when appropriate,” the company said in a statement to The Big Lead.

Reports about ESPN’s plans to make budget cuts began circulating over the summer, which was around the same time both Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann were let go, allowing the company to shed some hefty salaries. The network also lost Colin Cowherd to FOX Sports, but that seemed to be more due to the host wanting to pursue other opportunities.

Our thoughts are with the ESPN employees who are no doubt nervous over their job security.