ESPN Chairman Jimmy PitaroSteve Zak Photography | FilmMagic | Getty ImagesDisney’s ESPN on Friday is informing about 20 of its on-air personalities that they will no longer appear on any of the network’s platforms.Cuts include former National Basketball Association head coach and current game analyst Jeff Van Gundy and ex-NBA player and studio analyst Jalen Rose, according to a person familiar with the matter.”Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun,” ESPN said in a statement. “This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead.””This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company,” the network said. “These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”The cuts are part of ESPN’s efforts to meet its financial targets for 2023 and beyond. Targeting on-air employees with large salaries will allow ESPN to keep more staffers throughout the organization.Disney, which owns the majority of ESPN, recently concluded its own rounds of layoffs amounting to …
