Barstool Sports to lay off 25% of employees: report
Dave Portnoy bought the company back recently
Roughly 100 Barstool Sports employees, about 25% of its workforce, will be laid off, according to the New York Post.
Founder Dave Portnoy said cuts were coming when he reacquired the site earlier this month, saying it was something he had to do.
"I’ve been very clear. Anybody that’s paid attention, we are going to have layoffs and cuts. And they’ve started, and it sucks," Portnoy said earlier this week on Barstool Sports Radio.
"And people who know me from the beginning know I hate firing people. You can be incompetent, not work and I generally don’t fire because I hate it so much. It’s the worst thing to f---ing do.
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Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy attends Game 7 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston on May 15, 2022. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"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."
Portnoy bought Barstool Sports back from Penn when it rebranded as a sportsbook.
"Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports have gone our separate ways," Portnoy said in a video on X, formerly known as Twitter. "As of this moment, while you are watching this video, I have purchased back Barstool Sports from Penn. That is right: For the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports."
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, attends Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden in Boston on May 1, 2022. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Portnoy sold the company to Penn for half a billion dollars and bought it back for $1.
"I don't know what the future is. We're willing to adapt, try anything. But I think this deal for Barstool, why I'm excited about it, it ensures we'll be around for another 20 years, 30 years," Portnoy told FOX Business' Stuart Varney.
David Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, speaks during a radio broadcast prior to Super Bowl LIV in Miami Beach, Fla., on Jan. 30, 2020. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"For the first time in forever, we don’t have to watch what we say, how we talk, what we do. It’s back to the pirate ship. By the way, I’m never going to sell Barstool Sports. Ever."
FOX Business' Kayla Bailey and Scott Thompson contributed to this report.