ESPN is set to eliminate up to 350 jobs in order to confront rising programming costs and a loss of viewers, according to media reports.
The Disney-owned company could make the cut of approximately 4.3 percent of its workforce as early as Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.
The expected cost-cutting action follows Disney’s announcement in August that earnings at its cable networks won’t meet company forecasts as a result of subscriber losses and currency translation, which triggered a selloff in the shares of many media companies.
ESPN is reacting to and preparing for changes in the cable business, after subscriber fees have been pinched by the small but growing number of viewers unsubscribing, CNN Money reported.
One way to save money is to lose the contracts of high-profile talent, which ESPN did this summer by letting go Bill Simmons, Keith Olbermann and Colin Cowherd.
All three had recently been suspended for on-air comments that their employer deemed inappropriate.
Based in Bristol, Connecticut, with offices in Los Angeles and around the globe, the sports network employs 8,000 people worldwide.
A spokesperson from ESPN declined to comment to TheWrap about the reports.