(Bloomberg) — Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN sports network plans to eliminate as many as 350 positions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The cuts will be announced to employees as early as Wednesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing an internal matter.
The action follows Disney’s announcement in August that earnings at its cable networks wouldn’t meet company forecasts as a result of subscriber losses in pay television and currency translation. That triggered a selloff in the shares of several media companies.
An ESPN spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
“ESPN has historically embraced evolving technology to smartly navigate our business,” the company said in a statement last month when plans for job cuts were reported by thebiglead.com. “Any organizational changes will be announced directly to our employees if and when appropriate.”
Written by Scott Soshnick and Christopher Palmeri of Bloomberg
(Source: Bloomberg