Sports Illustrated became the latest media entity to lay off employees, with 17 staffers exiting the publication Wednesday.
In an internal memo, Sports Illustrated claimed the moves were part of a “restructuring” that will create additional openings inside the organization.
“Today is a day of change in our sports business. We are restructuring our Sports Illustrated group to reflect how consumers engage with us, and how we address the needs of our partners and audience,” the memo read. “We are saying goodbye to 17 colleagues and have created 12 new openings to reflect the new needs of the SI business.
“Since October of 2019, when we partnered with Authentic Brands Group to take over operations of the print and digital web and mobile businesses, we have evolved SI by repositioning the print business as a monthly publication, with premium journalism and excellent storytelling while also developing a robust digital presence across many platforms. The strategy has helped propel our sports vertical to rapid growth, adding more than 30 million users to our sports vertical since inception.”
In a statement published on Twitter, Sports Illustrated Union said the employees released are “valued, productive, and talented colleagues who should not have been let go. We will fight for them and continue to fight for the future of Sports Illustrated.”
Several of the writers and editors laid off made their status with the company known on social media.
