Mike Soltis, ESPN’s vice president of corporate communications division, was fired Monday after 43 years in Disney’s latest round of job cuts.
The longtime executive was first hired by founder Bill Rasmussen in 1980 as a college intern. After several promotions in the 1980s, he was named Director of Communications in 1992, directing the day-to-day operations of programming media relations activities. Soltys oversaw ESPN’s extensive 25th anniversary promotional campaign in 2004, which received 12 public relations awards, more than any other project in ESPN’s history. From 2003-2021, Soltis was responsible for strategic planning for the promotions for ESPN’s US networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN on ABC, ESPN’s College Network, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio.
In his current role, Soltys focuses on content creation for ESPNPR – including its social media feeds, its corporate blog ESPNFrontRow and media website ESPNPressRoom – and on publicity and issues management for ESPN’s news operations, which include the flagship SportsCenter, Includes industry-leading social media content from ESPN. and all of the company’s college sports coverage and networks. He also managed Connecticut issues, including serving as a registered lobbyist in the state.
Always with a quick quip, Soltis signed off on Twitter on Monday — trademark humor intact.
“My Final Statement as ESPN Spokesperson: “43 Amazing Years. Very good. We wish him well.
The layoffs come as part of a plan presented in February by returning Disney CEO Bob Iger to cut 7,000 jobs.
The first wave of layoffs came in March, which saw Disney’s Metaverse division (which was shuttered) and Marvel Entertainment (which joined Disney and lose CEO Ike Perlmutter, who claims he was fired ), and impressed the staff. Lower level executives as well as higher senior management level.
“As we move forward with operational control and financial responsibility as a core segment of Disney, we must identify ways to be efficient and agile. We will continue to focus our workforce on initiatives that are our key priorities. most closely associated with and emphasizes decision-making and responsibility across the organization,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo to employees. “That said, I do not want to downplay the heavy toll of saying goodbye to the dedicated colleagues who have worked tirelessly to strengthen ESPN and serve sports fans. The people of ESPN, and their relentless determination to get the job done, excel and innovate, have built this place. We will act with compassion, respect for our associates and professionalism as we face these difficult circumstances.
A spokeswoman declined to disclose the total number of cuts to ESPN.
The memo notes that employees in the current wave will hear from their leader and HR partner this week, while information for the third wave involving employees will be completed by early summer.
“To those who are leaving ESPN, I want to thank you for your many contributions and reinforce that the company is here to assist you during this challenging transition,” Pitaro concluded. “ESPN is built on camaraderie, resilience and a collective passion for serving sports fans. Those values are important during difficult times. Please continue to support each other.
Iger’s proposed layoffs — set with a target of $5.5 billion in cost savings — come as Disney is one of several media corporations facing financial difficulties. The costly move to compete with Netflix in the streaming market with Disney+ and a commitment to restore Disney’s dividend by the end of 2023 have underscored the need to make cuts. Iger said in March that the cuts were “necessary to create a more effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to our business,” adding that it expected to deliver $3 billion in savings to Disney over the next few years. The company also plans to cut $2.5 billion in nonmaterial spending, for a total of $5.5 billion.
Read Pitaro’s full memo below:
Dear friends,
As Bob Iger previously stated, Disney is reducing its workforce by approximately 7,000 jobs as part of a strategic and systematic restructuring. Today I’m sharing the difficult news that we are beginning to notify ESPN employees whose positions have been affected.
As we move forward with operational control and financial responsibility as a core segment of Disney, we must identify ways to be efficient and agile. We will continue to focus our workforce on initiatives that align most closely with our core priorities and emphasize decision-making and responsibility across the organization. That said, I don’t want to downplay the heavy toll of saying goodbye to dedicated colleagues who have worked to strengthen ESPN and serve sports fans. The people of ESPN, and their relentless determination to get the job done, excel and innovate, have built this place. We will act with compassion, respect for our associates and professionalism when faced with these difficult circumstances.
Employees in this wave will hear from their leader and HR partner this week. We will have another wave of information completed by early summer for those who are not in front-end talent roles.
To those leaving ESPN, I want to thank you for your many contributions and reaffirm that the company is here to assist you during this challenging transition. Please contact your HR partner if you have any questions.
While these decisions were made with a great deal of thought, I also want to recognize that we understand that this has been a long – but not entirely – process with a lot of uncertainty. This kind of action affects everyone. Thank you for your continued patience.
ESPN is built on camaraderie, resilience and a collective passion for serving sports fans. Those values are important during difficult times. Please continue to support each other.
sincerely,
all key
