Nearly the entire union staff of Sports Illustrated was laid off Friday in a move that could mean the end for the legendary magazine.
Sports Illustrated Union said in a statement The Arena Group notified them of plans to lay off “a significant number, possibly all, of the Guild-represented workers at SI” after Authentic Brands Group (ABG) revoked Arena’s license to publish Sports Illustrated.
“We have fought together as a union to maintain the standards of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company,” NFL editor and unit chair Mitch Goldich said in a statement. “It is a fight we will continue.”
Our statement on today’s mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated pic.twitter.com/tQjJdoHP4p
— Sports Illustrated Union (@si_union) January 19, 2024
ABG took over the magazine in 2019 and sold publishing rights to Arena Group, who missed a recent payment for the publishing rights, The Washington Post (WaPo) reported. ABG pulled the publishing license, according to WaPO. (RELATED: Sports Illustrated Puts Biological Male Kim Petras In Two Piece On Swimsuit Edition Magazine Cover)
RIP Sports Illustrated pic.twitter.com/DEfJBluYCg
— Alabama Outsider (@AlabamaOutsider) January 19, 2024
Some employees will receive immediate termination while others will work through the end of a notice period, NBC Sports reported, citing a letter from Arena Group.
CEO Ross Levinsohn was fired from Sports Illustrated in December after a report from Futurism alleged the company created fake author pages to pump out AI content.