ESPN Layoffs: Disney Cuts More Employees As Another 150 Workers Lose Their Jobs

ESPN is the latest division of Disney to be cutting staff in a new round of lay-offs for the mouse corporation, according to the Associated Press.

"We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs," ESPN said in a statement on Tuesday. "While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive."

The company has not released a figure as to how many workers will be let go, but they do include unfilled positions.

ESPN has approximately 7,000 employees worldwide, with about 4,000 at its headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, with the majority of employees working off camera.

This latest announcement of lay-offs comes only about a month after Disney announced it was laying off 150 people at LucasFilm, four months after acquiring the company responsible for "Star Wars" for $4.06 billion. Disney laid off about the same number of employees at its movie studio in April to cope with the decline in DVD sales as consumer habits shift to digital viewing.

Among all the lay-offs, Disney is doing well financially, exceeding or matching the earnings per share for the last eight quarters. The company reported a 32 percent gain in net income for its fiscal second-quarter earnings two weeks ago, resulting in more than a dozen Wall Street analysts raising their price targets on Disney stock to an average of almost $72.

ESPN has seen its costs increase with rising prices for broadcasting rights to live sports events. In November, the company announced a 12-year deal to televise the new college football playoff system that is worth about $470 million annually. A current four-year contract to air the Sugar, Orange and Fiesta bowls along with the BCS title game is worth about $125 million annually.

Live television events have become more valuable as people rely more on their DVR for their viewing habits. Sports events are one of the few things that people generally always watch live. This drives up rights fees while also making the programming more appealing to advertisers, allowing ESPN to charge more from cable and satellite operators.

At the same time that they announced the cuts, ESPN also announced they would be expanding in other areas, forming a network with the Southeastern Conference that will launch in August 2014 under a 20-year agreement.