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.
