ESPN is bracing for a painful round of layoffs in the coming weeks. Stephen A. Smith is not even sure if he’ll make it.
The moves are a part of layoffs that Disney’s CEO Bob Iger announced were coming across all of the company’s units.
Smith, who hosts First Take, talked about the upcoming changes.
“Have you all been paying attention to the business landscape? Disney itself announced that over 7,000 employees are going to be let go,” Smith said, via Front Office Sports. “ESPN is under the Disney umbrella. They’re going to have cuts coming. Hell, for all I know, I might be one of them. Now, I doubt that. But it’s possible. No one knows.”
Given how much he makes and how many shows he contributes to as well as the ratings he puts in, it is safe to say that Smith will not be part of these cuts.
Smith makes over $10 million per year and is one of the faces of the network.
ESPN has been spending heavily lately as they shelled out $18 million per year to get Troy Aikman from Fox as well as Jow Buck who is getting $15 million per year.
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In 2015, ESPN was hit by 300 layoffs. Two years later in 2017, another 250 people were laid off, including stars like Ron Jaworski, Marc Stein, and Trent Dilfer.
During the height of the pandemic in 202, the Worldwide leader in sports let go 300 employees and chose not to fill 200 positions.
