ESPN has fired several high profiles personalities and reporters in the last week, and more layoffs could be on the horizon for the company.
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Andrew Brandt and Adam Caplan were let go on Monday, and Ed Werder—who was fired last week—hinted that more firings could be coming soon.
Related: Following massive layoffs, ESPN is reportedly hiring one of the top reporters in sports
On Werder's new Dallas Cowboys podcast, he said NFL reporter Chris Mortensen told him that quality of work wouldn't be taken under consideration when the layoffs started.
Werder said he didn't expect to be among the names fired until he was told that quality of work wouldn't be considered.
Werder was even asked to cover the NFL Draft with the New Orleans Saints after he was fired, according to Awful Announcing.
ESPN is honoring the contracts of the employees who were fired, but Werder said if they found other jobs, then ESPN wouldn't continue paying them.
Werder also included names of a few ESPN employees whose names haven't been released yet, including Merril Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Joe Banner and Mark Dominik.
"It's not the quality of your work that's a factor," Werder said. "Well, it causes me to wonder, what is ESPN about? Because I thought it was about news and information and highlights, and I'm not sure that is the point of emphasis anymore.
"How is ESPN going to cover the NFL without all of the people who lost their jobs. What happens without Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworksi to NFL Matchup? What happens to NFL Insiders without a number of analysts, former general managers like Joe Banner and Mark Dominik. Are we really about to see a time when ESPN can no longer afford to cover its most valuable property in the way that it has?"
Those names hadn't been mentioned among the layoffs—most likely because they didn't want to announce names before the NFL Draft. Still, it's surprising to see ESPN lay off so many NFL reporters and analysts when that's the sport that brings in the most money to the company.
(h/t The Spun)
