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Popular digital media company, Barstool Sports, is set to undergo a substantial reduction in its workforce, with reports indicating that approximately 25 percent of its employees will face layoffs.
This move comes as the company’s founder, Dave Portnoy, regains control of Barstool Sports after a series of ownership changes.
According to report by the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, the impending job cuts are projected to affect around 100 employees and will be implemented on Thursday.
Barstool Sports currently employs around 430 individuals per the report, a number that had been bolstered by the company’s partnership with Penn Entertainment over the past few years.
The company experienced significant growth during its 3 1/2-year association with Penn Entertainment, adding approximately 300 employees to its roster.
Following the breakup with Penn Entertainment, Portnoy, who founded Barstool Sports in 2003, had publicly announced that such layoffs were on the horizon as the company aims to regain its financial stability.
During a recent segment on Barstool Sports Radio, Portnoy expressed his reluctance to initiate these layoffs, stating, “Having said that, we’re in a position it’s a no-brainer. It’s not like I have that moral — well, you can’t do it because nobody will have jobs. We’ll all not have jobs. So we have to get back to a break-even thing. We’re losing a lot and it sucks.”
The impending layoffs at Barstool underscore the challenges that media companies face in maintaining financial viability.