ESPN Parts Ways With Mike Soltys After 43 Years With Company As Layoffs Begin

In the latest round of layoffs at ESPN, the company’s second-longest tenured executive was let go Monday morning, according to Sports Business Journal. Vice president of corporate communications Mike Soltys had been with the company for 43 years. 

Soltys, who started with ESPN in 1980 as an unpaid intern, will leave the company in late June. The layoffs mark the beginning of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s plan to cut Disney’s workforce by about 7,000 jobs. 

According to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, this week’s layoffs will not include on-air talent, but there will be no “sacred cows” when it comes to personnel decisions. However, Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt and Joe Buck are staying put. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has told heads of departments to scrutinize every aspect of their divisions.

“Today I am sharing the difficult news that we are beginning to notify ESPN employees whose positions are impacted,” Pitaro said in a memo, per Marchand. “We will have another wave of notifications that will be completed by the start of the summer for those that are not in front-facing talent roles.”

According to Marchand, on-air talent making between the $2 million and $5 million will feel a squeeze. Some of those employees either won’t have their contracts renewed or will be offered buyouts if they are toward the end of their deals.

The layoffs reportedly will occur in three rounds.